‘Every child should have the right to free music education as a vital part of the school curriculum. Music is an empowering force for good.’ – Andrew Lloyd Webber

At The Quest Academy we are fortunate to be able to offer one lesson of music a week to all pupils from year 7-9. We have a variety of instruments as well as extra curricular activities in order to expose pupils to an enriching music education.

The music curriculum at The Quest Academy is currently going through its own evolution as we strive to find a balance between the national curriculum and the topics that we find benefit our own pupils. Part of this is developing a more inclusive curriculum in which pupils can hopefully see themselves represented. This means stepping outside of the usual selection of European male composers and instead learning about the contributions of female composers as well as composers of various ethnic origins.

We believe in practical music making being at the heart of an engaging music curriculum and for this reason our areas of study are rich in performance and composition opportunities. Pupils will experience playing a number of instruments over their three year KS3 journey, including piano, African drums, ukuleles, guitars and a number of tuned percussion instruments. As well as this they will learn how to compose both using instruments and advanced music writing computer software.

In addition to the practical music making that the pupils will enjoy, we want to build strong foundations and a deeper understanding of the subject. Music is hugely beneficial to pupils in a number of non academic ways including inspiring team work, improving communication skills, building confidence, and providing a creative outlet, and this is why it should be studied in detail alongside the practical opportunities provided. Pupils will learn how to read and write music, how to discuss music using musical language, and will also study historical events that are shaped by music.

Music should be accessible to all and our curriculum is tailored to the pupils at The Quest Academy. Pupils will explore a wide range of topics, both traditional and modern, including: piano masterpieces, classical, romantic, baroque and modern western classical tradition, reggae, world music, instruments of the orchestra, rap, political music, The Beatles, evolution of British music, programme music, film music, music for gaming, music for advertising, and computer music.