“…If you can walk, you can dance. If you can talk, you can sing.”
We believe that music plays an important part in each child's personal development and we aim to instil a love of music that will be carried through into adulthood. Music is a universal language that can promote such enjoyment, inclusivity and physical fitness and a good Musical Education can enhance other areas of the curriculum, such as increased concentration, listening and memory skills, confidence, co-ordination and co-operative working.
Our aim is that all pupils will develop an understanding and enjoyment of music & exercise their sensitivity and creativity. We will work hard to advance their vocal, motor & instrumental skills. We hope that our children will cultivate the ability to perform music in a variety of ways, the ability to compose music & songs through exploration of sounds, the ability to read and listen to music and thus appreciate music of various musical styles, times & cultures and the desire and ability to evaluate both sensitively and analytically.
Although much of the music curriculum is taught during weekly class lessons, music is an integral part of life
at St. Philip Howard, complimenting classwork and whole school singing featuring in assemblies, Masses, concerts, dramatic productions & other celebrations.
In addition, Years 2 & 3 are given the opportunity to learn the recorder. Furthermore, Key Stage 2’s School Band has been created to promote high quality live music & offer more advanced instrumentalists the experience & discipline of playing together & working as a team.
Our well established Glee choir is open to any keen Key Stage 2 singers and meets on Tuesdays after school. As well as preparing for specific concerts, the children enjoy lots of vocal games and activities. Staff strive to extend the children’s repertoire of songs both current and past and we receive extremely positive feedback from all the performances the children give. Whenever possible, children participate in performances outside school as part of festivals and in support of the local community.
We believe that the learning of a Foreign Language provides a valuable educational, social and cultural experience for our pupils. It helps them to develop communication skills, including the key skills of speaking and listening and extends their knowledge of how language works. Learning another language gives children a new perspective on the world, encouraging them to understand their own cultures and take an interest in those of others.
Although our target language at St. Philip Howard is French, all languages and cultures are valued equally and language lessons often involve exploring many languages, including the wonderful variety of languages our children speak. This invaluably stimulates and encourages children's curiosity about language and helps lay the foundations and skills for future language study and creative linguistic experimentation.
After school French Club is designed to enrich and extend existing class lessons through a variety of role play, singing, games and activities. It takes place on Thursdays from 3.15-4.15 and is open to 26 pupils from Years 1 to 3.