Music

“Many pupils gain high grades in the Associated Board music examinations in a variety of instruments. Each year, Year 8 pupils gain awards to senior schools for academic, music, art, sport and all-round scholarships.” (ISI Inspection Report 2007)

At Norman Court we aim to meet the needs of the musically talented as well as helping every child to discover the enjoyment in making and appreciating music of all genres through various styles of teaching and resources.

Music plays an integral role in the life of our community. All pupils are given class music lessons by specialist teachers. In addition, pupils in Years 3 to 6 sing in junior/middle choirs which perform on a number of occasions throughout the year.

Pupils in Years 2 and 3 are trialing our new instrument taster scheme where they receive a term of group tuition on the recorder, cornet, violin, ukulele and electronic keyboard. It is also possible to arrange for private taster lessons on any of the instruments taught at school.

The large majority of teaching is practical and pupils are encouraged to have fun whilst playing and performing. We also have a happy team of 17 visiting teachers who now teach over 140 instrument lessons a week.

Music also plays an important role in collective worship. Songs are taught that reflect the Christian ethos in the school.

We support group participation and have a large number of extra-curricula opportunities

for children to enjoy at no extra cost. Choirs, orchestral groups and a variety of bands are well attended. The children are keen to perform in public and every effort is made to provide opportunities for this to happen.

Each term we put on regular lunchtime recitals and evening concerts which the local community as well as parents enjoy.  The Christmas Carol Service in Salisbury Cathedral and the Summer Concert are both spectacular highlights of the musical year.

Drama

The Drama department aims to provide each child with the experience of performing on stage as part of a cast and to make sure that experience is as exciting and rewarding as possible. In addition, backstage roles are encouraged by the department.

The Drama department at Norman Court stages the Senior Production at the end of each Spring Term. The production is open to all members of years 5 to 8, main roles being cast through audition. The Senior production allows children to display a wide range of talents, drawing on their skills not only in drama but also in music and art. Performances take place in the final week of the Spring Term in Blake Hall.

The Junior department (Years 3 and 4) take their turn on the stage half way through the Summer Term. Their production is an ensemble performance, each child taking on a role of some kind and the Year 4s having the privilege of the more substantial roles. The recent production of The Selfish Giant was a huge success.  The performance of Virtual Reality allowed the children to show off what they had learnt in Topic and Science lessons that year. Previously, the Juniors performed No No Noah!, a musical version of the story of Noah's Ark. The music department takes a strong role in the Junior production; helping to rehearse songs for performance and providing musical backing. The children enjoy helping to prepare costumes and props.

Art

The Art Department is located in a purpose built room that is light and spacious. It has its own pottery area and kiln.

All our pupils have a double lesson a week (1hr 15mins) with the facilities open during extra-curricular activities time. Pupils working towards scholarships are invited to use the Art Room in their free time.

Our pupils regularly gain Art scholarships to the major senior schools. We also support pupils taking All Rounder scholarships by providing a portfolio of their work.

Our pupils learn to investigate their subject by looking and drawing from observation. They experiment with a wide range of wet and dry media through painting, print making, sculpture or ceramics. They are taught how to read and understand work created by a variety of artists and craftspeople. Through doing this they learn to understand the context of their own endeavours. This is done within the Art Room situation or by visiting both local and national galleries and sculpture parks.

We take part in National school exhibitions, local art exhibitions, display work in local shops as well as having the pupils' work on display around the school. The culmination of this is our Annual Art Exhibition where every pupil from 3 – 13 years has a piece of work selected for display.

“The Art Room is amazing, it is so big and the teachers are great”