The music curriculum here at Thaxted has been developed by the music leader, Mrs Somerville who is a music specialist. It is based on the National Curriculum and focusses on:

-providing students with a rich exploration into a range of genres

-instrumental teaching of a range of instruments, progressing through objectives based on age/ability

- developing a secure understanding of the basic theory of music.

-exploring the history of music.

-listening to live music and watching live performances.

The curriculum created takes into account the range of needs of the students at Thaxted School, and enables all learners, including those with SEND to access lessons and form a passion for music. It does this by encouraging creativity, allowing free expression, encouraging pupils to use a range of resources, forming inclusive group work and developing progressive objectives.

As pupils move through the school, they will develop a deeper understanding of the theory of music, and will focus on a range of genres, including their history. Whilst they explore a range of different instruments, KS1 will focus predominantly on percussion instruments, while KS2 students will learn the keyboard, recorder and glockenspiel. The teaching and objectives for the learning of these instruments progresses as the children move up the school and become more complex by the time the students reach upper KS2. 

By the time students leave Thaxted school, they will have explored a range of percussion instruments, covered objectives in the learning of the keyboard, recorder, glockenspiel and voice, listened to live music and watched live performances, explored the history of music including the different periods (Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, Modern, Contemporary) and discovered a range of diverse genres (blues, classical, jazz, musicals, pop, African, Asian, Celtic, country, gospel, rock, reggae, hip-hop, disco, indie, and soul).