Leverstock Green aims to deliver an enjoyable and creative musical education that is accessible for all children. Our lessons target the many ways that music can enhance other areas of the curriculum, such as language development, fine motor skills, extending topic work and developing concentration. They also encourage both individual self-expression and group work, developing teamwork and leadership, negotiation and discussion. Bearing in mind the proven benefits of learning to play a musical instrument (enhancing verbal memory, spatial reasoning, dexterity and literacy skills), every Year 5 child enjoys a year of ukulele tuition.

While we try to identify particularly talented children and direct them towards our peripatetic instrumental teachers, above all we reinforce that music is a lifelong interest and encourage all children to develop a love for music for its own sake. To this end we encourage them to develop their own tastes while learning more of the music of other cultures and historical periods.

Music also contributes to our acts of worship where the children create a bond by singing together. Children walk in and out of daily worship listening to music based on half-termly themes of either larger works e.g. Carnival of the Animals (Saint-Saens); or particular themes e.g. folk songs; instruments of the orchestra, with our weekly Sing A New Song singing practice exploring and explaining each topic.

Finally, our extra-curricular clubs offer yet more opportunities for every child to feel the benefit of music within their school lives.

In the words of Confucius, “Music affords a pleasure that human beings cannot do without.” At Leverstock Green, we aim to give our pupils an opportunity to experience that pleasure.