All things are possible for one who believes – Mark 9:23.

At Waverley Abbey School, we believe that a high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talents as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement. By providing a high quality musical education, pupils are encouraged to explore the world of music and to be introduced to as many new musical experiences as possible. The aim of our music department is to open children’s eyes and ears to a diverse musical programme that will be the foundation for a lifelong love of music.

At Waverley Abbey, all pupils have an hourly music session taught by the class teacher in our fantastic music department using the award winning Charanga music world programme. This allows pupils to be creative, work as team, build confidence and extend their self-motivation. These are skills that we aim to promote with emphasis on the joys of listening, appraising, performing and composing music.

In addition, we have a fantastic school choir for children of all ages, which practises a range of genres. Once a week we have a singing worship assembly, for all children to appreciate a wide range of musical artists thus allowing them to push their talents further and encourage new learners to flourish and enjoy learning music.

We are fortunate to have a dedicated custom built Arts block with 7 practise rooms - all accessible to the children, with pianos, sound equipment and ICT facilities built in.

The Arts Block houses an extensive range of instruments including class sets of djembe drums, boomwhackers, belleplates, glockenspiels/xylophones and steel pans. This allows us to cover a good range of musical styles from across the world. This also allows the children to learn formal and informal music notation in a group context. Work is often recorded for evaluation and composition projects. We also have a custom built and designed performance stage installed in the main hall, with professional sound equipment and lighting.

Surrey Arts - Tuning up

At Waverley Abbey School, we believe that a high-quality music education should engage and inspire pupils to develop a love of music and their talents as musicians, and so increase their self-confidence, creativity and sense of achievement.

Learning an instrument in a classroom environment is, for many children, the first step on their musical journey. Playing alongside their friends brings a range of musical and social benefits and can have a positive impact on their learning across the curriculum.

In year 4, we are fortunate to be following Surrey Arts Tuning up programme. An experienced music specialist teacher follows the National Curriculum for music, with a focus on learning how to play the clarinet. Lessons are an hour and occur fortnightly led by a Surrey Arts music teacher.

See progression of skills below.