We are fiercely proud of our music provision at Highbury Grove. All students in Year 7 – 9 learn an orchestral musical instrument during their weekly music curriculum lesson. Most students will learn how to play either a violin, viola or flute. All instruments are loaned to students. Some of our students choose to study music at GCSE and A level and continue with their instrumental studies until they leave our Academy.
Currently over 700 students play an instrument at Highbury Grove with at least 250 regularly attending a weekly music rehearsal. Our performance calendar offers our students a variety of different opportunities from lunchtime recitals to year group performing assemblies and GCSE solo performance exams to large-scale Christmas community concerts.
Music in Secondary Schools Trust
We are well-supported by the Music in Secondary Schools Trust and are fortunate to receive funding from this important charity. Our relationship with MiSST began in 2013 and we were the founding school for their specialist music programme. MiSST not only enable us to deliver a bespoke music curriculum but also provide additional performing opportunities for our students. Through our work with MiSST Highbury Grove students have performed at the Barbican, London Palladium and at the Cadogan Hall. Our students have performed with Il Divo, Michael Ball, Nicola Benedetti and the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain.
More information regarding MiSST can be found on their website: www.misst.org.uk
Music Specialist School
Almost 25% of students in key stage 3 opt to be a part of our music specialist programme which enables students to have free paired lessons on a range of orchestral instruments and take part in weekly ensemble rehearsals. Students are also taught composition and appraising as part of their curriculum music lessons. Music Specialist School is for students who want to excel in Music and have extra support with their instrumental studies on any orchestral instrument.
Additional Music Lessons
We also offer instrumental lessons from our fantastic peripatetic music team on a range of different instruments including:
- Piano
- Electric Guitar/ Bass Guitar
- Acoustic Guitar
- Drum kit
- Saxophone
- Voice
Music Enrichment Programme
Our weekly rehearsal schedule for 2021-2022 has been designed to ensure government guidelines related to COVID-19 can be adhered to and is as follows:
| Time | Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before School | String Quintet in Music 1 | Senior Orchestra in Music 5 | |||
| After School | Year 9 MSS in Music 5 | Year 8 MSS in Music 5 | Choir in Music 1 School of Rock in Music 3 | Year 7 MSS in Music 5 |
Guidance for families to help support our music students
There are several ways in which parents and carers can get involved to support our students in their music studies. All students will need somewhere quiet to practise. If this is not possible at home then we can support practise sessions in school.
How to look after your instrument:
- Always pack it away properly after practice
- Keep it somewhere safe in your home (out of reach of younger children, somewhere it can’t get damaged)
- If there is a problem with your instrument please don’t try to fix it yourself but instead ask a teacher for help immediately. All students and their families are responsible for ensuring the free loaned instrument is well looked after and remains in the same condition as when your child first received it.
Music Homework
Your child will be given music homework to complete every week. This will include practising and uploading a video demonstrating them playing a piece that they have been asked to work on. Their homework will always require practice on their musical instrument. Our guide to practice is on our school website. You should hear your child practise their instrument 3 times per week. This is what you can do to help them practise effectively:
- Check Google Classroom to see what they should be practising
- Find them a quiet space to practise where they can prop up their music and read it easily (buying a music stand may be useful)
- Ask them to perform to you at the end of their practice session. Other forms of music homework will include: short theory exercises, research tasks and revision.
Music Staff at CoLAHG
Curriculum Leader:
- Mr S. Robb
Music Teachers:
- Ms S. Bentley (Vice Principal)
- Ms C. McGugan (2iC)
Administrator & Technician:
- Mr B. Arrowsmith
Instrumental Teachers:
- Mr Ricardo Fuentes Contreras – Violin/Viola
- Mr Jure Smirnov – Violin/Viola
- Ms Jade Kong – Violin/Viola
- Ms Knarika Karapetian – Violin Viola
- Mr Michael Dunlop – Double Bass
- Dr Oliver Gledhill – Cello
- Ms Ellie Blamires – Flute
- Mr Simon Kelly – Flute
- Ms Martina Mihulkova – Flute
- Mr William King – Trombone/Tuba/French Horn
- Mr Oliver Arnold – Trumpet
- Ms Sotiria Aivazidi – Piano
- Ms Anastasia Ivaschenko – Violin/Piano
- Mr Alessandro La Barbera – Guitar/Bass Guitar
- Mr Flavio Matani – Guitar/Bass Guitar
- Mr Andrea Turco – Drums/Percussion
- Ms Grace Nyandoro – Voice