What is it to be a musician at Marriotts?

At Marriotts, we believe in the transformative power of music to inspire, engage, and develop every student. Our music curriculum is designed to encourage both performance and composition, allowing students to express themselves creatively and build confidence through hands-on experience. Our well-resourced department is equipped with a range of instruments, technology, and spaces that support a diverse and dynamic music education. 

We are more than just a department; we are a musical community. We foster a supportive environment where students, staff, and the wider school community come together to create, share, and celebrate music. Through concerts, collaborative projects, and extracurricular opportunities, Marriotts Music Department aims to cultivate a lifelong love of music and a deep appreciation for the role it plays in enriching our lives.  

Curriculum overview

KS3 (Years 7- 9) 

Music at Marriotts in Key Stage 3 comprises of 1 hour of music per week, taught in form groups. Topics are studied in a modular style throughout the year, with assessments conducted at the end of each module. Students are assessed with our whole school assessment policy: students will self-assess, peer-assess and have a teacher assessment once every half term. 

Yearly Modules: 

• Year 7: The Elements of Music (Pitch, Tempo, Dynamics), Metre, Garageband Composition (Loops), Piano Skills, World Music. 

• Year 8: Dynamics, Scales (Major, Minor, Pentatonic), Garageband Composition (Software instruments), Piano Skills (Pirates of the Carribean, Three Little Birds, Star Wars, James Bond). 

• Year 9: Music Technology (Production & Composition), Live performance (Blues).  

KS4 - BTEC Tech Award in Music Practice (Years 10 – 11) 

The BTEC Music Practice qualification is a vocational course designed for students who want a practical, hands-on approach to learning about music. It focuses on developing the skills, knowledge, and understanding needed to succeed in the music sector. Grades are awarded based on coursework submissions.  

This evidence can include, performance videos, video logs, musical compositions, audio clips, journals, and written work. 

Total Qualification Time: 140 hours/ Total Guided Learning Hours: 120 

• Component 1: Exploring Music Products and Styles  

Learners will explore the techniques used in the creation of different musical products and investigate the key features of different musical styles.  

• Component 2: Music Skills Development   

Learners will have the opportunity to develop two musical disciplines through engagement in practical tasks, while documenting their progress and planning for further improvement.  

• Component 3: Responding to a Music Brief  

Learners will be given the opportunity to develop and present music in response to a given music brief. 

KS5 - RSL Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma for Music Practitioners (Years 12 – 13) 

Our RSL course has been designed with live performance and professional musicianship in mind. Students will undertake 6 modules during their two-year course. 

The modules focus specifically on live performance, rehearsal skills, progression at your instrument, pursuing a career in music, planning events, promoting your music and knowledge of the music industry over the last 75 years. This course is designed to give students a comprehensive experience of what it takes to be a professional musician. 

Modules 

• Rehearsal Skills & Live Music Performance - This unit highlights the learner’s live performance skills and their capacity to take ownership of the entire performance process, including planning, rehearsals, performance, and evaluation.  

• Planning for a Career in Music - The aim of this unit is to familiarise learners with the processes associated with effective career planning and to align/link their career aims with their study for this qualification, defining the ways in which the learner engages with their learning.  

• Music Event Management - This unit looks to develop event management skills and can be applied to any kind of event or tour. The live music experience is increasingly important to performers and their business partners, and the ability to manage an event is an important skill for any practitioner, regardless of the genre, product or marketplace. By evaluating the process involved in staging a musical event and applying the required skills to an area of their own interest, learners will develop strategies for event management and promotion in a variety of areas.  

• Music Promotion - This unit will enable learners to understand the processes involved in selling products in the current music industry supply chain and when selling direct to consumer. 

• Listening to Music - This unit will develop and assess the learners’ listening skills, knowledge and awareness of music and ultimately inform their own creative development. The purpose of this unit is to introduce learners to the concept of perceptive listening and develop skills for application of listening skills to development of their own musical output.  

• Evolution of the Record Industry - This unit aims to look at how the UK popular music recording industry has changed since 1950, and how these changes have impacted upon artists and their audiences.