Music plays an important part in the life of St Jude’s. We intend to provide an opportunity for all pupils to learn an instrument and to be exposed to the rich cultural influences of music from the UK and around the world. It is an essential part of our daily assembly where opportunities for listening and performing are provided. Attached to this page are an outline of our curriculum and last year’s Music for Assembly  PowerPoints, which show the diverse music that our pupils are exposed to.

At Key Stage 1, pupils are introduced to music via the Charanga scheme.  It focuses on developing a joy in music and singing, while learning about pitch, rhythm and simple notation. This is accompanied by a social question about the impact of music both now and in the past.  

At Key Stage 2, music is further developed by a specialist teacher who has written her own scheme. It is delivered in Years 3, 5 and 6 by the class teachers and, in Year 4, by the brass teacher.

We have a strong partnership with Egham Band, for which we are the flagship school for developing their own version of the previous government-funded Surrey Arts Tuning Up Scheme. We run a very successful brass teaching programme which loans every child a brass instrument in Year 4 (cornet, baritone or trombone) accompanied by weekly lessons during curriculum time. This has been so successful that some children have passed music exams and/or have become accomplished enough to perform in concerts. Egham Band has even created a Youth Band to enable our pupils to continue playing when they leave St Jude’s and go on to secondary school, which took 3rd place in the first ever competition they entered in the spring of 2024. Our school band played at the opening of the Diocese Leadership Conference in March 2024 and was highly praised for their talent.  Some of the founding members of the Youth Band have now finished university and have returned to play as adults in the main band, demonstrating their passion for music that was ignited at St Jude's. 

Surrey County Arts peripatetic music teachers visit the school to instruct pupils on a wide variety of instruments, including piano and cello. We also have our own drumming teacher and have grown some very successful percussionists. Parents can apply for tuition via the school office for which a termly fee applies or lessons can be funded for disadvantaged pupils.

Every summer, we hold an outdoor music concert which showcases the talent that we have in the junior school and the school band plays at the village fair each June. Year 6 pupils take part in an end of term production in July – some pupils performing in a live band to accompany the actors.

Music is an integral part of our school and its impact can be seen through the joy that the children demonstrate when singing and playing. We aim to ensure that all pupils have the opportunity to experience and read music and to potentially unlock a skill and passion that they may not have even known they had.