Our Academic Curriculum | St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh | A specialist music and academic education

Primary Years

From P5 to P7, pupils are taught together in one composite class, creating a warm and inclusive educational environment where pupils learn at their own pace and benefit from each others’ experience and knowledge.

Our primary education is broadly based within the second level (P5 to P7) of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence, alongside each child’s individualised music timetable, whether they are a chorister or an instrumentalist. With high teacher to pupil ratios, and each pupil receiving appropriate support, our youngest students are supported to flourish and achieve to the very best of their ability.

The core curriculum is taught by the Primary Class Teacher with a strong focus on literacy and numeracy skills, along with health and wellbeing. Pupils also engage in interdisciplinary learning (IDL) or ‘topic’ sessions which encompass Science, Social Studies and Technology, allowing the children to gain a greater understanding of the world around them. Art and Design, Modern Languages, Physical Education (PE) and Music Theory are taught by specialist teachers, and each pupil’s individual timetable accommodates both their instrumental and choral lessons.

This excellent general education, along with our unique music provision, equips our primary pupils with a wide range of knowledge, skills and exciting experiences to draw on as they move to secondary education and beyond.

Senior Years

During the S1 and S2 years, our curriculum is based broadly on the Level 3 and Level 4 outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence with a focus on the expressive arts, language and literacy, health and wellbeing, mathematics and numeracy, social studies and technologies.

Some areas such as health and wellbeing and IT proficiency are supported right across the curriculum by every teacher, as well as in specific lessons such as Personal and Social Education (PSE), while others are offered through discrete study, timetables and taught by subject specialists.

From Senior 3 onwards, pupils begin to study for national qualifications and will, by the end of Senior 6, have achieved a good selection of National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher qualifications. All pupils are presented for A-Level music in S6, having been presented for Higher Music in S4 and Advanced Higher Music in S5. As pupils progress, they further specialise in chosen subjects, based on their abilities and interests, and here our small size works in our favour. A good degree of personal choice can be achieved through flexible timetabling and our ability to tap into a vast teaching network – if a pupil wants to study Spanish or Photography, we find a teacher! Not every pupil chooses to study music when they leave St Mary’s Music School, so we ensure that as many options as possible are available here to set them up for success, whichever future path they choose. Bilingual students studying Modern Languages and those who are particularly advanced in Mathematics can also be supported with extension programmes and may sit some national qualifications early.

S6 Extension

Sometimes our own pupils opt to stay for an additional year so that they are better prepared to successfully apply for a place at university, conservatoire or music college.

However, both our S6 and S6 Extension years are often joined by pupils new to the School who have applied to our Advanced Programme. We discuss each pupil's requirements to make sure that they are following a timetable and curriculum best suited to their needs.

Advanced Programme

Open to young instrumentalists, singers and composers (aged 16 +) from other schools, who intend to apply for a music course at university, conservatoire or music college, this is a fantastic opportunity to attend St Mary’s Music School for the final years of higher education and gain further qualifications and training.

Due to the timing of applications for music in further education settings, and the degree of intensive preparation required in order to successfully apply, our Advanced Programme needs to be followed for a minimum of two years, typically S6 and S6 Extension.

The programme is ideal for Scottish pupils who have already completed their Highers, pupils from the rest of the UK as a two-year post A-Level programme, and international pupils. As well as intensive music study, pupils follow an academic programme which is designed to meet their specific requirements. This is based around Scottish Advanced Highers, which are accepted by higher education institutions around the world, and the Cambridge Pre-U Music qualification. For international students for whom English is not their first language, English as an Additional Language is also available and students may apply as boarders or as day students.

Additional Support For Learning

Some learners require support to succeed in their learning which is additional to, or different from, the provision generally provided to their peers. This is particularly relevant in a school like ours where admission is based on musical potential rather than academic prowess.

Our well-established Support for Learning Department works closely with learners, teachers, parents and, where appropriate, external agencies to secure the best outcome for every pupil, at every stage of their schooling with us. The Department provides a range of interventions and support mechanisms which enable every pupil to achieve success.

Extra-Curricular Activities

From Ceilidh Club to Chess Club and from Running Club to Poetry Club, there’s plenty of opportunities to flex both physical and mental muscles outside of the classroom or practice room.

The Scottish Mathematical Challenge is hugely popular – not surprising given the close links between music and maths – and we have an active Eco-Schools committee as well as an enthusiastic Gardening Club, whose produce (grown in our gardens and glasshouse) often finds its way onto the school menu. As a small school, we’re always able and willing to support new interests and hobbies, and to reflect wider societal trends too.