Departments

Music

Teaching Staff

Mr B Coffey (HOD)
Mrs W McConnell

Aims

• To foster enjoyment of music
• To encourage and enable pupils to be involved in practical music making
• To develop listening skills in order to foster an appreciation of music
• To promote imagination, aesthetic awareness and creativity
• To develop accuracy, alertness, sensitivity, and other attributes in addition to social awareness and tolerance

Curriculum

Every pupil in Years 8 – 10 receives two periods of music per week. In Year 11 the GCSE course usually attracts around 20 students and usually up to half of these pursue music at AS and A2 Levels.

Throughout these seven years, performing, composing and listening activities make up the curriculum. The emphasis in Years 8 – 10 is on practical music making with pupils encouraged to utilise performing skills on instruments learnt outside school. High on the agenda is the enjoyment of music – both through practical music making and listening to a wide range of music. At GCSE and A level the opportunity is given to pursue personal interests with options at A level enabling students to focus on their strengths.

Woodwind, brass and string tuition is provided by the South-Eastern Education and Library Board whilst private tutors teach piano, guitar and voice. Approximately 100 pupils are involved in learning a musical instrument in school.

Resources and facilities

Two classrooms with 24 electronic keyboards and four additional practice rooms/teaching areas are always much in demand and in constant use. Both classrooms have computers facilitating the use of software used to enhance composition work and there are extensive collections of CDs and musical scores.

Achievements and recent successes

The music department puts on a number of public events throughout the year. In November, our ‘Music for an Autumn’s Evening’ is held in Down Civic Arts Centre and provides opportunity for younger pupils to perform in public. The Carol Services at Christmas (usually the last Monday of term) are held in the neighbouring Down Cathedral – the 8.00pm service attracts parents, friends, pupils and former pupils and is a community affair.
In March two evenings of instrumental and choral music are held in the Great Hall of the Downshire Hospital and are a showcase for the school’s Junior, Senior and Chamber Choirs, the Concert Band, Orchestra and Jazz Group as well as a number of soloists. Recent years have seen pupils from Down High being selected to play in prestigious province-wide groups – we have been represented in the Ulster Youth Choir, the Ulster Youth Training Choir, the Ulster Youth Jazz Orchestra and the Ulster Youth Orchestra. These – and from time to time other – musical activities outside school enable our students to gain performing experience and to interact with high quality musicians of their own age.