Our challenging vision for music at The Crypt is to educate, develop and inspire students to achieve their full musical potential. We provide them with the skills and body of knowledge required for the lifelong enjoyment of participating in music. Music is the beating heart of The Crypt School: apart from its place in the curriculum, music plays a significant part in the life of the school - in a wide range of public concerts, services, informal workshops, competitions and musicals. We encourage all students to flourish and to develop perseverance, tolerance and resilience as musicians and to develop their music making to the highest level whilst being able demonstrate musical literacy and oracy skills.
Through outstanding teaching, a wide and varied co-curricular programme and a desire for every student to reach their potential, music is a very creative, exciting and important part of a Crypt School education.
Music plays a key role in the cultural life of the School. It is a busy, thriving & vibrant department, committed to providing excellence in its teaching, both in the classroom and in its ensemble coaching. - Julian Whittaker, Director of Music
Teaching is creative, ambitious, diverse, challenging and inclusive. At KS3, pupils develop mastery through regular instrumental performance and develop their creativity within composition projects using music technology. They develop as active listeners and appraise music from a wide variety of genres, applying technical terminology. All students learn important musicianship skills and develop the confidence to sing and perform with expression and fluency, whilst learning traditional music theory and notation. Through gaining technical, constructive and expressive skills, the pupils develop and flourish as musicians while gaining confidence. Our challenging and ambitious KS3 skills based curriculum features four units of work over the whole year, allowing our pupils to develop musical skills incrementally and revisit skills.
The curriculum is clearly sequenced. All pupils are given the time and support to make excellent progress, regardless of ability or background. At year 9, all students are given a taster of GCSE style topics. GCSE and A Level is taught using the OCR syllabus. We endeavour to inspire and enthuse all students to become creative musicians and also prepare those students who wish to follow a career in music at university and conservatoire level.
We educate all pupils to become MUSICAL.
Spring Concert 2022
Extracts from Our Founders' Day Service 2023
Music Programme of Study
Exam Boards
GCSE - OCR
A Level - OCR
Extra Curricular
There are a number of music clubs and groups that students at Crypt to take part in; including: Chamber Choir, Young Voices, Gospel Choir, Senior Choir, A Capella Choir, Lower School orchestra, Senior Chamber orchestra, Jazz Band, Woodwind group, Ukelele group, and String Quartet.
Teaching Staff
J Whittaker - Director of Music
S Banda - Teacher of Music
Mr B Hannaford-Waddington, - Musician in Residence (2023-2024)
Visiting Music Teachers
Mr Philip Storer - Brass
Mrs Charlie Bunting - Strings
Mrs Karen Sykes - Woodwind
Mr Matt Bucher - Percussion
Mr Anthony Bunting - Guitar and ukelele
Mr Matthew Sharp - Piano and electronic keyboard
Mr Christopher Boodle - Piano, organ and theory
Mr William Morris - Piano
Miss Sacha Fullerton - Singing
Ms Hannah Wrieden - Bassoon
Mr Rushton: Jazz band lead/Music technology
