Music

Music expresses feeling and thought, without language; it was below and before speech, and it is above and beyond all words.

~Robert G. Ingersoll

The National Curriculum of England & Wales forms the basis of our teaching, although by no means limits it. We take pride in our role as facilitators, providing opportunities through which every child can construct their own understanding of a broad range of musical genres, cultures and traditions. Further to the curriculum we offer a wide variety of extracurricular activities for students of all ages. Participation in musical activities has been proven to significantly develop children's social, cognitive and motor skills as well as foster greater teamwork.  The department facilitates an extensive instrumental programme with professional instrumental tutors who visit daily.

In KS3 we cover a comprehensive history of Western Music from the Medieval period to the Music of the 21st Century. This is complimented by a range of World Music projects. The skills foci are in composing, appraising and performing.

GCSE Music has become increasingly popular over the past 3 years. We follow the AQA syllabus which allows students to explore extended composition, solo and ensemble performances and detailed listening and appraising components. We are running AS Music this year for the first time, preparing our students for entrance into the best universities and Music conservatoires in the world.
 
We have very well-resourced facilities, complete with a recently commissioned Gamelan, fully furnished technology suite, large ensemble rehearsal room, sound-proofed practice suites and a set of African drums, purchased from a Fair Trade village near Guinée Conakry.

Richard A Curran has a BMus(hons) in Music from the University of Edinburgh and a PGCE, also from the University of Edinburgh. Before joining BST, he was Assistant Director of Music for 8 years at Tanglin Trust School in Singapore and prior to that, worked as Director of Music at the International School in Paris. As well as teaching Music from Y9-12 he is a Faculty Head. In his spare time Richard enjoys playing tennis and frequenting Blue Note & Billboard Live events.

Sean Tait gained a Bachelor of Contemporary Music in 2002 from Southern Cross University, and a Bachelor of Business (marketing)/Bachelor of Arts (drama, literature, journalism) in 2001 from Central Queensland University. He has been with BST as a piano teacher since 2007 and is looking forward to starting as a KS3 classroom music teacher from this year. Prior to this he taught piano/keyboard, composition, and ensemble at Muse Music Academy Yoyogi Tokyo for 2 1/2 years, and has taught piano privately since 1994 (both in Australia and Japan).