Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything.

Plato

Aim

Music is a powerful means of communication.  It brings people together and creates opportunities to work with one another using a language that transcends barriers.  It is an art that can be practised, appreciated and enjoyed at many levels, offering the opportunity to perform informally and formally and as a soloist or a member of a larger musical ensemble.  Above all, it allows those who participate to give of themselves, grow in confidence and communicate their enthusiasm with others.  It is therefore our aim at Warwick Prep that all our children will grow to appreciate the power of Music and become part of a creative force that has always been at the centre of civilisation.

Approach

Music plays a central role in the life of Warwick Prep.  From Nursery upwards, pupils are taught by specialist music teachers usually in groups of less than 15 in our state-of-the-art music school.  In the Pre-Prep department the emphasis is on singing and playing unturned percussion instruments.  In the Prep department, learning takes in a wider range of instruments, musical styles as well as opportunities to compose, including on the department's suite of computers.

Our state-of-the-art music school opened in September 2020, complete with an auditorium, rehearsal studio, two music classrooms, one keyboard suite running Cubase and Sibelius workstations, percussion studio, 14 practice rooms, a music library, and instrument storage.

Pupils can also learn a wide variety of instruments with the help of our team of peripatetic music staff. The school is used as an exam centre for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music and each term between 30 and 40 pupils are successfully entered for exams on a wide range of instruments.  We have a number of pupils of exceptional musical talent and many of these will go on to be awarded scholarships at senior school level.

The school has an enviable record of concert performances in school and at venues in the locality providing our pupils with opportunity to perform to audiences both large and small.

Typically, these include:

• Senior & Junior String Orchestras
• Harp Group
• Woodwind Club
• Senior Choir
• Chamber Choir
• Full Orchestra
• Recorder group
• Tootie Fluties (Senior Flute Choir)
• Senior Handbells
• Intermediate Handbells
• Training Handbells
• Senior Theory Class
• Intermediate Theory Class
• Junior Choir
• Cello Club
• Brass Club
• Fife Group (x2)
• Lower 2 Strings
• Class Band