Every child has the right to an excellent music education. Darell has a music specialist on the staff three days each week, and every class throughout the school has a curriculum music lesson for a minimum of 30 minutes each week. Music is proven to enhance and promote spiritual, emotional, mental, physical and creative development. In addition, it creates great joy, and we take a real pride in ensuring that each and every child has musical opportunities during their time at Darell School.

We have a real ‘hands on’ approach to music allowing children to experiment and explore music and instruments. There are no rights or wrongs, simply discovery! Music is noisy, music is fun and music is magical.

Children are offered a wealth of international, national, European and world music, whether that is through live performance or recorded music. Every child is encouraged to participate fully in all aspects of the music curriculum. Through singing, instrumentation, music appreciation, composition and improvisation children are exposed to the great and varied world of music. Children are taught awareness of composers, a history of music and the musical eras as well as notation. Starting this year, all children in Year 3 will learn to play the recorder.

The school has an excellent range of tuned and un-tuned percussion as well as a selection of acoustic and electrical instruments. Children are invited to discover families in the orchestra through practical exploration. Music is vibrant, alive and very much a part of everyday living at Darell School.

The music specialist works closely with all class teachers so that topic-related subjects are linked into curriculum music lessons. The music specialist assists with regular performances to family and friends of Darell School.

Children are given the opportunity to learn a variety of instruments before and during the school day. We currently offer violin and piano lessons facilitated by Richmond Music Trust as well as drum tuition. If your child has a particular interest in a certain musical instrument, an application form for instrumental and vocal tuition is available from the school office. With enough interest, we can offer further music tuition. Year 4 take part in the government-initiated Wider Opportunities scheme, which offers class instruction vocally in the initial term followed by class guitar tuition. Extra-curricular musical activities include an enthusiastic school choir who perform regularly at various events throughout the year including the annual Singing Festival at The Rose Theatre. This is available to children in Years 3-6. There is an additional choir for children in Years 1 and 2. As a new initiative, we have a musical theatre club which will put on regular performances. We have a school band which contributes to our school assemblies. Two recorder clubs take place each week and our keyboard club is proving popular with our children.

Music enriches and enhances the aesthetic life of the school. It creates a warmth and beauty through which our children can be nurtured and grow.