Introduction to the Music Department
Music is core to our offer at NHGS. Our commitment to and success in music has been recognised by the West Yorkshire Music Hub nominating us as the Lead School (Secondary) for music in Calderdale. The department has a team of three qualified classroom music teachers and a large peripatetic team of visiting teachers. More information about our extracurricular activities and instrumental tuition can be found below.
NHGS musicians are lucky to have a range of modern and up-to-date facilities at their disposal. This includes three music teaching rooms, one equipped with computers and keyboards to support their music technology and composition skills, using software such as Sibelius, MuseScore and Ableton Live. We also have three practice rooms and our state-of-the-art Theatre, with industry-standard sound and lighting equipment which students can be trained on and use. The school owns a range of instruments which are used in the classroom and as part of our extracurricular programme.
Every term we host at least one formal concert and this is in addition to our external performance opportunities and informal recitals. Our choirs regularly compete in external competitions such as the Mrs Sunderland Performing Arts Festival and our instrumentalists collaborate with professional orchestras such as Paradox Orchestra and the English Chamber Orchestra. We regularly take our musicians on tour and have workshops with professional musicians.
We are committed to offering a broad music curriculum at Key Stage 3 and Music is a popular choice for GCSE and A Level. We are the only school setting in Calderdale which delivers A Level Music and this offer attracts students to our sixth form from other schools across the local area. Visitors are always welcomed in the Music Department. To find out more about our upcoming events and opportunities, contact Mr Marston (Director of Music).
Extracurricular Music 2025/26
The table below shows the scope and timetable of the many music and singing clubs on offer. Please note that this can be subject to change.
Instrumental & Vocal Tuition
At NHGS a range of Instrumental and Vocal Tuition is available.
Please follow the link Music Tuition or click on the link from "in this section"
School Music Development Plan
This is a summary of how our school delivers music education to all our pupils across three areas – curriculum music, the Ambit programme and musical experiences – and what changes we are planning in future years. This information is to help pupils and parents or carers understand what our school offers and who we work with to support our pupils’ music education.
Please click the link Music Development Plan to download or click on the link from "Download" section.
Contact
If you have any questions or queries regarding Music in general, please contact Mr Marston at musicadmin@nhgs.co.uk
