& How Musical Futures

works for us!

We were part of the Welsh pilot that started in September 2011 and were really excited at the

prospect of trying out new things because I felt that our curriculum was becoming stale and not moving on with

the times.

We literally jumped in straight into the ‘deep end’ completely immersing all year groups into Musical

Futures lessons and haven’t looked back since.

Bryngwyn is a ‘normal’ school situated in Llanelli, which is a large town based in

Carmarthenshire on the coast of South Wales. The community we serve features a variety of

backgrounds including some Communities First areas.

Only a very small minority of pupils receive private instrumental lessons.

The Music department is housed in a suite of rooms that consists of:

M1 Computer and Workshopping/Rehearsal Room

M2Jamhub Room

And 2 very ‘cosy’ practice rooms(The photographer was stood on a chair outside the room!)

We are very lucky and have superb resources, which makes up for the lack of space.

However, we’ve worked hard to build them up

over a long time.

Top tip - Beg, borrow and bid! It will pay off!

The results from introducing the Musical Futures pedagogies were practically immediate

in terms of motivating the pupils.

Plus our MAT pupils positively flourished under the new regime that enabled learners to follow

a personalised curriculum.

How Musical Futures works in Bryngwyn.

We start in Year 7 with whole class work shopping

and some vocal carousel work followed by some beginners band carousel work on traditional

Welsh music that the pupils then ‘remix’ to their favourite style.

How Musical Futures works in Bryngwyn.

In Year 8 pupils develop their skills through The Band Carousel

Ready for …

How Musical Futures works in Bryngwyn.

In at the deep end

This project works well in Year 9 and at the start of Year 10. Pupils love the autonomy they have

and will respond well. (eventually – honest!)

A pupil recently blogged:

“I love my music lessons, but you do have to think for yourself.”

We take that as a compliment!

Being involved with Musical Futures has also created many amazing opportunities for

teaching staff too through the FREE training they offer,

virtual networking, shared resources

and constant source of new ideas.

Pupils have responded brilliantly to MUFU, which has led to renewed enthusiasm for music

as a subject and higher levels of achievement and the best of all raised levels of self-esteem.

Plus we teachers love it too!

We are really proud of our pupils’ achievements and are happy to have our work ‘out there’ in the public domain for everyone to listen to.

To hear for yourself visit us at:

www.bryngwynrockslive.weebly.com