Music – Mrs R. Andrews

Cotteridge School’s vision for music is to provide every child with high-quality music experiences which engage and inspire.  Through creating, composing, performing and enjoying a variety of music styles, we aim for every child to leave our school with a range of musical skills and a love of music.

The Charanga scheme of work is used from EYFS – Year 6 to ensure a wide exposure to different genres of music, with lots of practical opportunities to explore, and develop, as musicians and singers.  Year 4 are taught to play a wind instrument as well as children in Years 3, 5 and 6 enjoying class music lessons with visiting specialists from Birmingham LEA music service.

We also offer a range of extra-curricular clubs for children who wish to learn an instrument outside of the curriculum and there is an opportunity for Key Stage 2 children to join a lunchtime choir and participate in concerts across the city. We are very proud of the partnership that we have developed with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO).  Through our work with the CBSO, the children have enjoyed  workshops lead by professional musicians and have experienced first-hand orchestral performances by musicians visiting school and year group visits to the Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

Music Day, which usually happens in the spring term, enables children to learn more about musicians at a deeper level and respond creatively using a variety of media, including music technology.

As a school, we also enjoy working with musicians in the wider community and, during Diversity week, we welcome local artists into school to work with the children. In previous years, the children have enjoyed learning more about Bhangra and African drumming.