London Catholic school hits right notes to land award for Outstanding Teaching in Music

An east London Catholic secondary school is celebrating after its Music Department has been awarded the prestigious PTI Department Development Programme Subject Mark for outstanding teaching in Music.

Launched in 2007, the PTI Department Development Programme recognises and rewards school departments across the UK for developing inspiring and innovative teaching practices in a range of subjects, including Art, D&T, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Music, PE, and Science. The programme is designed to enhance teaching and learning, regardless of students’ backgrounds or abilities.

The music department at St Bonaventure’s Catholic Secondary School in Forest Gate earned this accolade for its innovative approach to widening access to music-making, particularly through its efforts to make instrumental lessons more accessible by heavily subsidises them. The department has also focused on developing staff expertise, especially in the area of Music Technology, and has set ambitious targets for students, encouraging them to reach higher levels of achievement.

Mr Hepplewhite, Head of Music at St Bonaventure’s, said: “I am extremely pleased that we have, for the second consecutive year, been awarded the PTI mark for Music. The PTI is invaluable in inspiring and developing collaboration between like-minded music teachers to seek out and share best practices and innovation. Most importantly though, to develop our students’ love for the subject.”

To achieve The PTI Subject Mark, departments have to demonstrate that they have increased the challenge within their subject curriculum, developed their staff’s specialist subject knowledge, developed subject-based links outside school and enthused their pupils through subject-based activities beyond the curriculum.

After three years of Department Development Programme membership, departments may choose to conduct a Department Development Project by devising an advanced multi-year programme in one of these areas.

St Bonaventure’s is a voluntary-aided Catholic Secondary School in Forest Gate for boys aged 11–16 and for boys and girls aged 16-18 in the Sixth Form. https://www.stbons.org/