St James the Great R.C (V.A) Primary & Nursery School

Music Clubs

Choir

Our school choir has a current membership of eighty seven children. The Choir is a voluntary activity open to all junior boys and girls and there is a good representation of both genders across the year groups. We have rehearsals every Friday morning with a prompt start at 8:30am.

We enjoy ourselves through singing a wide repertoire to suit various occasions throughout the year.

Representatives from the Junior Choir join other schools to perform at the Fairfields Hall in the annual Croydon Schools Music Festival. This is a great opportunity for the children to experience performing to a large audience.

The choir often perform at assemblies, at external events around Christmas time and other events in our local community and parishes.

In preparation for their move to the juniors a Year Two choir is formed at the start of each calendar year. This group takes part in the annual Croydon Schools Music Festival held at a public performance in the Fairfeilds Hall Croydon. This group is made up of 25 boys and girls.

Recorders

Children in Year 3 are invited to learn to play the recorder. The school is very proud of the fact that the majority of children continue to play the recorder throughout their junior school years becoming highly proficient recorder players. Recorder club currently has a membership of 82 boys and girls.

The club is run by two teachers who offer lessons at the following times:

 

• Year 3 – Friday 12.30 – 1.00 – Mrs Forward
• Year 4 – Monday 8.30 – 9.00 – Mrs Day
• Year 5 - Tuesday 8.30 – 9.00 – Mrs Forward
• Year 6 – Wednesday – 8.30 – 9.00 – Mrs Day

There are opportunities to play in assemblies and concerts. The children have opportunities to enjoy playing many different styles of music.

Steel Pans

Steel pans have been established at the school since 2002. Miss Rebecca Hughes took the initiative of suggesting a steel pan group as she had joined such a group when at college. In conversation the school Premises Manager mentioned that at his previous school they had put into storage a set of steel pans that they no longer used. This school offered the pans to St James the Great as they no longer needed them. The pans were in a dilapidated condition. After some research a local firm was found that manufactured and restored steel pans. The results of this renovation can be seen in the pictures. It was interesting when the company inspected the pans to discover that they had in actual fact been made by the father of the proprietor.

Our group has gone from strength to strength They have to date performed at a summer fete, a parish multi cultural evening and a school music evening. In addition they have appeared in a BBC news item which can be viewed in the media section of our website.