The aim of the Music curriculum in KS3 is to foster an appreciation of music, providing all students with exposure to a diverse range of musical styles and experiences spanning a broad range of eras and cultures. Students will develop a solid foundation of theory skills to prepare them for learning at a KS4. 

All theoretical concepts will be strongly rooted in practical, skills-based tasks. Each unit of work will incorporate theoretical concepts with performance and composition skills, with key assessment tasks designed to combine skills and knowledge learned in these different components. Units are carefully sequenced to allow for continued development of core skills and concepts, with a progression to gradually build on student’s depth of understanding and complexity of skills learned. Upon completion of KS3 students will have been exposed to a wide range of musical genres and styles and will have gained a broad range of practical, performance-based skills. As well as the specific music knowledge, terminology and skills, students will also develop the transferable skills of analysis, motor skill development and co-ordination, collaboration, leadership, critical thinking, empathy, and creative thinking. 

There are a range of cross-curricular links to English, Science, Design and Technology, and Maths, as well as explicit links to careers associated with music, embedded over the three years. The combination of these curriculum elements will enable students to complete KS3 in such a way that should they decide not to continue with Music in KS4 they will leave with an appreciation of music as a discipline and art, alongside a greater depth of understanding of core musical concepts, and its place in the wider context of our society.