MUSIC
OUR MUSIC CURRICULUM
Music is a set part of the curriculum from Nursery through Year 9. Students in these years will have at least one dedicated music lesson per week. The curriculum for these years has been recently redesigned to make it more diverse, more practical, more focussed on SMSC, and most importantly, more fun! We now have a dedicated Junior Music specialist teacher, who will focus on Nursery to Year 3 while the rest of our team will share the teaching of Years 4 – 13. Junior School students in Years 4 - 6 learn a new instrument each year: strings in Year 4, wind/brass in Year 5 and ukulele/piano in Year 6, with our specialist instrumental teachers providing tuition in small groups. There is now more of a focus on Music Production and the use of sequencing software in Key Stages 2 and 3, so that our students can develop skills to prepare them for a future in the Music industry, if they wish.
Once students leave Year 9, Music is no longer a compulsory part of the curriculum, but they have many options if they wish to continue. Within the Years 10 & 11 timetable, they can opt for our Music GCSE and at Sixth Form they can study Music A-Level and the new RSL Creative Music Industry course.
Outside of the timetable, there are a wealth of opportunities both in a range of performances that run throughout the year (see below) and in our extensive extracurricular clubs, such as: Orchestra, Senior Choir, String Ensemble, Music Production Club, Funk/Soul Band, Composition Workshop, Junior Band Workshop, Junior School Singers and Flute Ensemble.
Our aim is to incorporate Music into as many aspects of the school as possible. We have recently purchased a busking speaker to allow our musicians to perform on a whim and there is a jam piano (kindly painted by Year 7 Art students) available outside the Aldridge Theatre. We have also secured a Classical Spotlight at the beginning of each series of Morning Talks which run throughout the year.
The Music Department is buzzing with student band rehearsals, and our newly purchased drum kits and amps are getting a lot of use. There are now three rooms that are plug-and-play ready for jamming, and the studio is up and running for recording.
PERIPATETIC MUSIC LESSONS
In addition to teaching music lessons as part of the curriculum from Early Years right through to A Level, we can also offer individual instrumental and vocal tuition during the school day to students in Year 4 upwards. If you would like your child to receive individual lessons, please read the FAQs document (link below) and then complete the Music Application Form. Our team of visiting music and LAMDA teachers teach over 200 lessons every week, which may include:
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LAMDA
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Piano
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Guitar (Acoustic, Classical, Electric and Bass)
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Ukulele
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Voice (Classical, Musical Theatre, Jazz and Rock & Pop)
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Drumkit and Tuned Percussion
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Flute, Clarinet, Saxophone and Bassoon
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Violin
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Cello
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Trumpet, Trombone
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Music Theory
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Music Technology and DJing
For 2026/27, all music lessons in school are 40 minute in length, and charged at £33.00 (£330.00 for a series 10 lessons).
Year 4-9 lessons are scheduled and rotated during the school day (8.30am until 4.10pm)
Year 10-11 lessons are scheduled at lunchtime or after school
Year 12-13 lessons are scheduled during free periods
Children may start taking lessons from Year 4.
We may also be able to arrange lessons for instruments that we don't currently teach; please get in touch with us to enquire - sallyvivian@frensham.org
If you would like your child to have individual lessons here at Frensham, please complete the Music Application Form.
LAMDA LESSONS
PERIPATETIC MUSIC LESSONS
Lessons for Years 4–9 are 25 minutes, and lessons for Years 10–13 are 30 minutes.
Grades 1–6 require two terms of tuition, with a third term optional. Grades 7 and 8 require three terms.
Solo lessons are an exception, available for parents who specifically request them. The standard format is groups of three in Junior School and paired lessons in Senior School.
Junior School LAMDA groups of 3 are £14.50 and paired lessons are £19.00. Solo Lessons are £33
Children may start taking lessons from year 4, and the latest a student can start taking LAMDA lessons is the summer term of Year 12.