Updates

Thank you for getting in touch with AGS. We understand and appreciate your concerns.

Unfortunately, in some cases, misinterpretation of information placed online by a third party and subsequent misinformation circulated by others, has led to an inaccurate understanding of the current situation at AGS regarding the provision of performing arts, including music. We are therefore providing all interested parties with the following information.

We appreciate that some people would prefer to read a summary, whilst others would value a little more of the detail. We have therefore provided a bullet point summary below and followed this with a more detailed response for those who may wish to read on.

Summary

• Subjects that fall within ‘Performing Arts’ are valued at AGS and form an important part of our curriculum.
• Students in Year 9 are offered GCSE Music as one of their options to consider for Year 10 and 11.
• GCSE Music was not as popular an option for students in this Year 9 this year, with students opting to study other subjects instead of Music. These other subjects maintain the breadth of curriculum and include subjects that have been added to our GCSE programme in recent years: photography, business and enterprise, media studies, construction and sociology.
• We continue to work with the small number of students who chose GCSE Music along with their parents/carers, to support/advise and with the hope of finding a good solution for all of these young people.
• GCSE Music will continue to be one of the Key Stage 4 options available to students at AGS in the future.
• Music continues to feature very prominently in the extensive extra-curricular programme for students at AGS.

More of the Detail

We are pleased to be able to let you know that students of all ages are able to access a broad curriculum offer, alongside an excellent number of enrichment activities, at AGS. As well as a large number of other subjects, all students study dance, drama and music during each of the first three years in the school.

Performing Arts continue to be an important part of AGS, with a wide range and vast number of extra-curricular activities supplementing and supporting the lessons being taught in these subjects. The extra-curricular activities linked to music have increased in recent years and include major stage productions, choirs, orchestra, rock school, peripatetic lessons, student bands, concerts in and out of school, international tours, collaborations and competitions.

With subjects like music often attracting fewer students at GCSE and A Level, AGS has used creative solutions to enable subjects such as this to remain on our curriculum. This continues to be the case where possible.

Occasionally however, too few students opt for a subject for it to be feasible as a GCSE or A Level, without it having too much of a detrimental impact on other students across the school. This happens in lots of schools and includes lots of different subjects. At times like this it becomes even more of a balancing act, with senior leaders carefully considering costs and benefits before ultimately making decisions. These decisions at AGS are never taken without a great deal of thought and never without consideration of the individuals involved as well as the student body as a whole.

The way in which students are permitted to choose their subjects at AGS differs to that often seen in other schools, with our students being given more freedom of choice with less limitations placed on which type of subjects they can choose. They are also permitted to choose more than one subject from a suite of similar subjects such as those found in the humanities, technologies or the arts. Freedom of choice has been a fundamental characteristic of AGS for many years and continues to be so today. As a result of this method of working, the curriculum varies from year to year and is shaped around the preferences of each Year Group, as they move from Key Stage 3 into Key Stage 4.

Unfortunately, this way of working — whilst giving lots of benefits for young people — can also make it even more challenging for a school to facilitate every student’s choices. This does not stop us from responding positively to this challenge and we are therefore able to give almost all students their preferred options.

Our programme for students is inclusive and helps many to develop their talents and, in some cases, pursue successful careers in Music/Performing Arts. All students are able to fully access the outstanding provision of music in our extra-curricular programme. All students are able to apply to study music in our Sixth Form even if they do not do GCSE Music. We have several students who have gone on to achieve academic success in Music in our Sixth Form and beyond when they have not studied music at GCSE.

All of our students benefit from a 1:1 meeting about their choices. In addition to these meetings, additional time is devoted to students for whom we are not going to be able to provide all of the subjects they have chosen. This level of support helps to better ensure that any changes in subjects that may be necessary are fully understood and agreed.

Staff at AGS and across Embark very much value subjects like music. Our students do too. But, sometimes, students decide that they would rather study other subjects more.

We are continuing to support the small group of students in current Y9 who may wish to study music as a GCSE and are investigating ways of them being able to achieve this qualification at the end of their Year 11. This involves school staff working directly with these students and with their parents/carers.

Thank you for getting in touch with us and for making your views known. We hope that this response has helped to explain the situation, allay fears and address any misconceptions. Decisions connected to the curriculum are never taken lightly. Whilst you may not agree with the steps we have taken or all of the decisions that are made, we hope that you can appreciate why these have happened.