Music

We in the Music Department want to educate, develop and inspire students to achieve their full musical potential and provide them the skills for lifelong enjoyment of music.

We are committed to the highest standards of musicianship by combining innovative and individualized programs to meet the needs of our students and families thereby contributing to their musical success.
Music at HTS is a valued part of the curriculum from Reception through to Year 9 and thereafter as an option. Whilst we are able to boast a plethora of talented musicians, we believe the true purpose of music education is not necessarily to create professional musicians. It is to create more complete human beings who are critical thinkers, who have curious minds and who can lead productive lives. We believe Music is the glue, bonding subjects together, for it is not only mathematical and physically demanding requiring great co-ordination, it is also a science, a foreign language and of course an art.

Students are taught how to read music and are encouraged to perform to their peers as well as in regular school concerts. Popular subjects we cover from Year 7 are film music, musical theatre and computer and video game music.
The Music Department boasts a strong Prep Choir, recorder consort and developing orchestra, which regularly perform locally in the Kidderminster community as well as further afield in Birmingham.

As preparation for GCSE work we study a number of different areas of music and begin to use technical musical language: Film music, Musical Theatre, Popular Song and Fusions. We explore pieces of music by expanding the students’ knowledge and understanding of musical elements, musical contexts and musical language so that they can understand and make critical judgements about the music. Later in academic year we start to develop comparative and evaluative skills which can then be used in composition and performance work.