Music

The dynamic Music Department gives students access to exceptional musical opportunities that inspire at every stage.

K.E.S. is enormously proud of its Music Department. It is a busy and thriving department place, offering students a huge variety of musical experiences both in and outside the classroom. All Year 7s are offered the opportunity to study an instrument, with many instruments free of charge, for their first term, and this is the School’s tangible investment in the musical ethos of the School. Free hire for orchestral instruments can be organised through Warwickshire Music for the first year of learning.

Emphasis is placed on practical music-making during Year 7 and 8. Boys follow a varied scheme of work including performance, singing, improvisation and composition which also includes developing some theoretical understanding of musical processes as well as historical context. All Year 7 students sing and play instruments together in the annual Year 7 Concert. In Years 9 to 11, students who opt for Music cover a course which culminates in a GCSE (AQA 8271). During these three years they also have an opportunity to take the ABRSM Grade 5 Theory examination. In Years 12 and 13 students study history and composition in more depth, with a continued emphasis on performance, leading to A level (AQA 7272). Across all Year groups, student work is enhanced by materials on the Digital Classroom.

Music is an increasingly popular GCSE option with almost a third of the current Year 9 opting for it. Students regularly leave School to study Music, either at University or Conservatoire. There are currently six students from the past three years studying Music at Oxbridge colleges. 

The department is located centrally in the School and consists of a general music classroom and a dedicated ICT suite.  There are also eight practice rooms, each with a keyboard instrument, including a Schimmel concert grand piano, a Yamaha baby grand and a Roland digital harpsichord.

Two specialist staff teach Music across all years, and there is a team of nineteen visiting music teachers who teach instrumental and vocal lessons on a one-to-one basis.

The Music Department is a vibrant and exciting place to be and gives students huge opportunities to perform in many ensembles which rehearse weekly; concert performances throughout the academic year and tours enabling students to experience performances in a variety of venues throughout Europe.

For more details of individual lessons, ensembles and performance opportunities at the School, please see under ‘Extra-curricular’.