Cathedral

Cathedral Primary School provides exceptional musical opportunities for every child. We offer a diverse and inclusive programme of activities, through our curriculum, our extra music provision and extra-curricular ensembles. Please click here to view our Music Curriculum overview for all year groups

Children experience a wide range of music through our music curriculum through listening, composing and performing with a Music specialist. Further to this, each year group receives two terms of extra music provision ranging from Rock Band to violin tuition! We also educate children in other musical genres and would like as many as possible to learn an instrument.

We run an Infant Choir, Lower School Choir, Upper School Choir and an auditioned Chamber Choir. We also run a String Orchestra and, for two terms, an African Drumming ensemble.

Cathedral Primary School also maintains a link with Bristol Cathedral and we have several boys who sing as choristers. Additionally, we liaise closely with Bristol Cathedral Choir School and perform collaboratively with them twice a year.

All pupils are given the opportunity to learn instruments with an outstanding team of music staff. We offer instrumental tuition that includes lessons on the recorder, oboe, clarinet, flute, violin, viola, cello as well as selected brass instruments.

Ethos

Cathedral Primary School fulfils a need for a Bristol primary school that nurtures an appreciation of, and participation in, all genres of music from an early age. We particularly encourage an awareness of the English choral tradition in general, and of the music of the Bristol Cathedral Choir in particular.

We benefit from our close partnership with Bristol Cathedral Choir School – an Academy which has music as its principal specialism. As Cathedral Primary School grows, we expect to develop our own strong musical culture through the formation of ensembles and choirs, underpinned by the input of professional musicians and by access to superb facilities. Increasingly, Cathedral Primary School will generate outreach opportunities for other primary and secondary schools in Bristol.

Music Lessons

Music plays an important role in the curricular and extra-curricular life of Cathedral Primary School. The curriculum encourages creativity and enjoyment from the Early Years. 

A broad range of music is taught to pupils at our school. From Reception, children have whole-class music and singing lessons. They are introduced to the violin, which they go on to learn as a whole class in Year 1. Pupils are also offered the opportunity to take up individual violin lessons or small-group singing lessons.

From Year 1, the School also runs chamber ensembles for singing and violin.

Specialist staff work closely with School staff to embed music into the School curriculum. Our aim is to make music an integral part of School life and for music enjoyed by all at Cathedral Primary School.

Becoming a Chorister

We expect Cathedral Primary School to play an important part in maintaining and strengthening the excellent Choir at Bristol Cathedral. The opening of Cathedral Primary School allows potential Choristers to be identified and nurtured from an earlier age than has previously been possible.

We will encourage boys and girls to apply to become Choristers and will provide facilities for Chorister practice and specific musical tuition during the School day, liaising closely with Cathedral staff. 

Children can apply to become Choristers in Year 3. However, there will also be opportunities for children to gain experience of singing in a cathedral setting in the lower years.