Curriculum: Music Key Stage 4

Richard Lander School offers two pathways for students opting to take music at Key Stage 4. 

Edexcel GCSE Music aims to: 

• Encourage students to be inspired, moved and changed through appreciating music from a wide range of contexts
• Develop critical and evaluative skills, creative and aesthetic skills as well as sensitivity, emotional awareness, cultural understanding, self-discipline and self-confidence
• Enable students to engage directly with music, to develop their own instrumental skills and to compose and perform confidently in individual and group contexts

The compositional and performance elements of the course are assessed internally whilst the listening and appraising elements are studied through formal external examination. In Year 10 students will focus on the composition and performance elements of the course, while in Year 11 they will concentrate on preparation for their final exam.

Students opting for the BTEC First Award in Music can then choose to specialise in music performance or music technology. All BTEC students will start with Unit 1: The Music Industry in Year 10 before moving on to  Unit 2: Managing a Music Project and Unit 7: Introduction to Recording in Year 11. Students who choose performance will also complete Unit 5: Introduction to Performance. Students who choose technology will also complete Unit 6: Introduction to Sequencing.

More information on GCSE Music and BTech Music Technology are available here: 

If you have any further questions please email

Ms S Jones - Head of Music