Music Lessons

Parents make applications for instrumental music tuition to the Director of Music. Allocations of pupils is then processed and will depend on several factors: the availability of staff, teaching loads within particular year groups, pupil numbers for visiting teachers, specific teacher requests [considered], waiting lists, and the employment of new teaching staff and the delay for CRB checks. New allocations are generally given to teachers at the start of the term, although more recently we have tried to email lists during the preceding holiday period. They are required to make direct contact with the parents concerned.

Instrumental and theory lessons take place throughout the school day from Mondays to Friday. Every attempt is made to accommodate Sports matches on Wednesdays and Fridays afternoons. All music lesson timetables must ROTATE and these are devised in preparation for the start of each term by the Director of Music. Pupils are not allowed to continually miss the same academic lessons and the rotation must be adhered to as strictly as possible. Where a pupil plays two or more instruments, this is not always possible, but we do try to have their lessons on different days and to accommodate some lessons during non-academic times. This can break down when teachers alter their teaching days, so we prefer that you try to stick to your set day whenever possible. Immediate contact needs to be made with the Director of Music and the parents of the pupils, if there is some reason why set teaching days need to be changed. Only in exceptional circumstances should children be taken out of the same lessons for two weeks in a row, and where this does happen, The Director of Music will need to consult with the class teacher.

Music lesson timetables are posted in both the main School and in Old Bank House at the start of each term, listing all lessons which are due to be taught for the whole term.

All pupils must make use of a St George's Music Notebook. This is an extremely important part of the communication process between the teacher, the pupil and the parents. It is assumed that teachers will write detailed instructions as to exactly what needs to be done before the next lesson. Parents are asked to look at this book each week and to initial it on a regular basis. In order to keep a record of the lesson arrangements (subjects missed), music teachers are required to complete all details in the Music Notebook. This document effectively records the number of lessons taught, academic lessons missed, work set and comments to the parents, as well as the termly reports for Autumn and Spring. Properly completed, it averts any number of questions which parents and academic staff might have. The Music Teachers should contact parents immediately when this book is not brought into school for a lesson.

It is intended that Music Teachers will prepare their pupils in all aspects of technical work and repertoire associated with the instrument at any particular grade, and appropriate to the capability of the child. This will include scales and arpeggios, sight reading and aural. In the weeks immediately preceding the music exams, additional aural classes are held for the various grades, but it is assumed that these are additional to the work that will have already been covered during lessons. Not all pupils are free to attend these classes.-, so they must not be relied upon in the preparation process.

Some pupils have theory lessons - all choristers and those who might feasibly go on to higher practical grades and Music Scholarship Awards. For all other pupils, and especially those pre-Grade 2, the requirement for some theory will need to be covered by the Visiting Music Teacher. Additionally the Class Music Programme introduces all pupils to the basic elements of theory and composition over a six year period.