GCSE and A Level Music
Course details
Introduction
We offer distinctive, high-quality GCSE and A Level Music courses on Saturdays at our campus in Greenwich, South East London. For 25 years, these courses have prepared students for Pearson Edexcel GCSE and A Level Music qualifications, achieving outstanding examination results.
The GCSE Music qualification is a one academic year course; A Level Music is a two academic year course.
Key Features
Students receive intensive teaching from highly-experienced professionals, cultivating breadth and depth of musical understanding and invaluable experience in independent study. The course includes composition tuition with specialised composers, while students continue their performance development with their own vocal or instrumental teachers, nurturing essential practical skills.
Expert tutors – including experienced Heads of Music and examiners – guide and inspire students throughout the academic year. Students join the Junior Trinity community of ambitious young musicians at the Old Royal Naval College in Greenwich, experiencing the unique atmosphere of a leading conservatoire.
The courses are an excellent foundation for any student who would like to widen their experience of the academic study of the subject and are an ideal preparation for higher education courses in music.
Detailed Information
Who are these courses for?
-
Students from schools and colleges that are unable to offer A Level or GCSE Music
-
Home-educated students
-
Students unable to fit A Level Music into their timetable at school or college
-
Main Programme Junior Trinity
Students must be under 19 years old to join the in-person Saturday school; and must be able to attend at our King Charles Court campus in Greenwich.
However we do accept mature students onto our Distance Learning A Level course, as well as students who are unable to attend the in-person course.
Both GCSE and A Level courses are intensive. Classes take place during Saturday mornings and early afternoons, for about 2½ hours each week in term time:
-
GCSE students have two classes for the study of set works and listening, with a further 1½ hours allocated to composition coursework. Find out more about the syllabus and course information here.
-
A Level students have two classes covering set works, harmony and listening, and an additional one-to-one tutorial with a specialist composer to supervise composition coursework. Find out more about the syllabus and course information here.
Our results are exceptional
Between 2015 – 2025, our 250 A Level candidates achieved a 100% pass rate, with 96% achieving A*-C grades. Over 100 GCSE candidates achieved a 100% pass rate, with 99% achieving grades 9 – 6.
SEND Support
Junior Trinity aims to provide outstanding preparation for examination qualifications to all students on our academic courses. We are inclusive in our provision in terms of social background, ability, ethnicity, religion, gender, or sexuality. We aim, within the respective constraints of our in-person and remote courses, to ensure appropriate access for all students preparing for GCSE or A Level qualifications, and to encourage the highest levels of attainment as appropriate to the individual learner.
We recognise that a student with SEND will have a learning difficulty or disability that causes significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of others on the course.
We recognise that learners may have additional needs throughout or at any time during the course. The teaching team will take into account students’ individual needs. The provision aims to enable students to participate effectively in the curriculum and in assessment and examination activities.
Exam entry
-
We are an Edexcel exam centre and enter students for their examinations. The course fees cover entry fees.
-
Entry is for the June examination session
-
Written exams take place on site at King Charles Court, Greenwich
-
NEA (Non-exam assessment) is supervised by us as part of the course during attendance on Saturdays
Fees
The 2026/27 fee for these courses is £2,152 per year. For GCSE this is a one year course. For A Level this is a two year course.
Entry Requirements
We do not require qualifying exams to have been taken (for example, we know that home educated students may not have taken formal exams) but will need evidence that students can meet the following criteria:
A Level
- An understanding of theory at Grade 5 level (our pre-course assessment test covers this)
- Academic standards equivalent to Grade 6 or higher in GCSE English and Maths (for written English our pre-course assessment will cover this)
- A minimum performance standard of Grade 6 on an instrument or voice at the start of the course
GCSE
- An understanding of theory at Grade 4 level (our pre-course assessment test covers this)
- An ability to write well-expressed English language with good spelling and grammar (our pre-course assessment will cover this)
- A minimum performance standard of Grade 4 on an instrument or voice at the start of the course
We recommend you contact us by email so that we can advise on your needs. Contact Penny Davis for more details and how to enroll.