Music Tuition
Music at Parrs Wood continues to go from strength to strength. Our aim is to bring together students and staff from all parts of our school community to engage with the Music, and raise their achievements, whilst providing numerous opportunities to strengthen positive character traits and experiences that will enhance learning across all subjects and future aspirations.
Music plays an integral role in students’ learning at Parrs Wood. KS3 students have a curriculum Music lesson once a week, and study a wide variety of topics. These include the Elements of Music, Performance Skills, Film Music, Blues, Reggae, The Beatles, Form and Structure, Musicals, Samba, Music Technology and many more. All of these topics encourage listening and appraising skills, performance and/or composition, which are the key units studied at KS4 and 5.
At KS4, students can choose to study the Edexcel GCSE Music and/or the NFCE Level 2 Music Technology course. KS4 music forms part of the broad and balanced curriculum offered at Parrs Wood, and is ideal for students who want to continue their creative studies beyond KS3. At KS5, students can study Edexcel A Level Music and A Level Music Technology. There is a long-standing tradition of Parrs Wood have going on to study Music at graduate level; last year we have had successful applicants for Salford University and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
We are very fortunate to be able to offer the outstanding space and facilities that we have within the department. We have four teaching classrooms, a separate A Level teaching room, two iMac suites (running Logic Pro X and Sibelius), 10 practice rooms and a recording studio to support our students’ musical learning and experience. We have excellent links with the RNCM, University of Manchester and Salford University, as well as numerous performance venues. Last year alone we performed at the RNCM, Chetham’s School of Music and the Stockport Plaza.
We are very proud of our rich and varied extra-curricular programme, which includes numerous choirs, bands, an orchestra, steel pan groups, jazz bands, ukulele groups etc. as well as our nine visiting peripatetic teachers who teach 20 different instruments between them, mostly provided by One Education staff. All of our instrumental lessons and ensembles are open to everyone with no auditions. We are a fully inclusive department and welcome all who want to experience a subject that we are so passionate about. We regularly perform within our local community as well through the Didsbury Arts Festival. Every other year we join forces with our fantastic Drama department and we put on a musical as well; recent performances have included Bugsy Malone, Annie and Little Shop of Horrors.
Please see the link below for our most recent performance, which was our virtual Christmas Concert, aired in December 2020. There is plenty for everyone to get involved in and we can’t wait to welcome you to Music at Parrs Wood!
