Key Stage 5 - A2 Level

A2 Music consists of a further 3 units:

Unit 5 Composing and Compositional Techniques – 30%:

Students study Harmony in the style of JS Bach and also study composition of a String Quartet. In the Spring Term students have up to 20 hours complete a 4–part harmony exercise and a string quartet question.

Unit 4 Music in Context – 30%:

Further development of the skills begun at AS, with a change of historical topics:
Twentieth Century English Choral Music and Shostakovich’s 4th Symphony. The listening paper which accompanies this written exam consists of a variety of questions designed to test aural skills.5

Unit 6 Performing – 40%:

Students aim to perform a 10–14 minutes solo and ensemble programme on their instrument which lasts 10–14 minutes. Final recordings are normally made in April of their A2 year.

The AQA specification is taught.

Both Sibelius and Cubase software are used in our keyboard suite.

100% of our students achieved grades A-A* in 2012.