Music

Music searches out a way into your heart and remains beating there forever.

Music plays a vital role in education because it unlocks creativity, builds emotional resilience, sharpens communication skills, and turns learning into something joyful and deeply engaging. When students make music, they don’t just participate—they grow.

‘Music is all around us. It is the soundtrack to our lives. Music connects us through people and places in our ever-changing world. It is creative, collaborative, celebratory and challenging’. ‘A high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talent as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. As pupils progress, they should develop a critical engagement with music, allowing them to compose, and to listen with discrimination to the best in the musical world’. Adapted from National Curriculum, DfE, 2013 and 2021.

At Winifred Holtby Academy we will give you the opportunity to perform, listen to, review and evaluate music across a range of historical periods, genres, styles and traditions. You will learn to sing and to use your voices, to create and compose music on their own and with others. There is the opportunity to learn a musical instrument, use technology appropriately and you will have the opportunity to progress to the next level of musical excellence. You will learn and explore how music is created, produced and communicated, including through the inter-related dimensions: pitch, duration, dynamics, tempo, timbre, texture, structure and appropriate musical notations.

Key Stage 3 Curriculum 

Key Stage 4 Curriculum 

(AQA GCSE Music)

Extracurricular

A wide range of extracurricular opportunities are available to students within the Music department. Students can access instrumental and vocal tuition across a variety of disciplines, including guitar, drums, piano, cello, violin, brass, woodwind and singing.

We also take part in workshops and events offered through Hull Music Service, giving students the chance to broaden their musical experiences beyond the classroom. Within the academy, learners can join a number of enrichment groups such as the brass ensemble, singing club and guitar club.

Throughout the year, students are encouraged to take part in performance opportunities, including school concerts, showcases and full musical productions.