The Music Department forms part of The Arts Faculty, here at The Holgate School, and is an integral part of the Arts Specialism.   Music is taught to the students in a suite of well equipped rooms, including three classrooms, an Apple Mac Recording Suite, a study, practice rooms, a 6th form area and 4 recording studios. At Key Stage 3, students are taught in mixed ability groups, and Music is a hugely popular and very successful examination subject.
The Holgate School is now in its 3rd year as an Arts Specialist, and this has meant that Music has been able to significantly change the curriculum. In addition to the GCSE programme, we now offer NCFE Music Technology to Key Stage 4 students, and BTEC National Award in Music Technology to the 6th form students. The department has also been successful in putting a group of students through the National Arts Award Programme (http://www.artsaward.org.uk), with the aim to continue building on this success during this coming academic year.
	The Holgate School Music Department has strong links with the family of feeder schools, and as part of the Community Plan within the Arts Bid, we have been able to work with lots of pupils in those schools, and with the staff, enabling them to improve their capacity to deliver music at Key Stage 2. The department also has strong links with Bestwood Black Diamonds Brass Band, who have supported Holgate many times during performances and events.
Instrumental lessons are also available for students who wish to learn String, Woodwind and Brass instruments, and also guitar, piano, voice and drums.   A number of performance opportunities are available throughout the school year, and the department is currently working hard on planning for the school’s production of “Annie” in November 2009.   The classrooms are well equipped with pitched and unpitched percussion instruments, keyboards, recorders, guitars, pianos, drum kits and computer systems. The department has its own stock of orchestral instruments available for student use.   Currently there is one part-time music teacher (Steve Johnson) and three full time music teachers:- Aoife McMullan (Head of Department), Richard Grantham (Assistant Head Teacher) and Matt Murphy. There are also several instrumental peri staff. The Arts Homepage