GCSE and A Level Course

Introduction

Junior Trinity offers you the opportunity to follow one- and two-year academic courses in Music, leading to GCSE and A Level qualifications.

Junior Trinity is an examination centre for Pearson Edexcel and has been teaching examination courses on Saturdays for twenty years. This musical education involves the development of various academic disciplines, giving insights into historical context, techniques of harmony and composition, and appraising music. Students also benefit from the support of a highly-experienced and well-qualified team of specialised teachers.

The courses provide an excellent foundation for any student who would like to broaden their academic musical knowledge. They are an ideal preparation for higher education courses in music.

Key features

The courses are intensive. Classes take place during Saturday mornings and early afternoons: 

• GCSE students have two classes for the study of set works, with a further 1½ hours allocated to composition coursework. 
• A Level students have four classes covering set works, harmony and listening, and an additional one-to-one tutorial with a specialist composer to supervise composition coursework. 

Part of our A Level cohort follows our unique course: A Level Music by distance-learning. Students study in small groups through class lessons online during the week and they also have additional tutorials with a specialist composer. 

Our results are exceptional.  

• Since 2018, all our GCSE candidates have achieved Grade 6 or higher, with 89% awarded Grades 9, 8 or 7. 
• Since 2018, all our A Level candidates have achieved Grade C or higher, with 75% awarded A*, A or B. 
• In 2020, six of our GCSE candidates achieved ‘9’ and seven of our A-Level candidates achieved A*. 

Entry requirements

For the A Level Music course, we do not require you to start the course with any specified prior qualifications. However, you should be capable of achieving five GCSE subjects at Grade B or above, including English and Mathematics, and a music performance standard of at least Grade 6 (exams do not have to have been taken). A GCSE in Music is very helpful, although not essential if you have appropriate previous experience in performing and composing. A confident understanding of theory at Grade 5 level is expected before starting the course, and fluent musical literacy is essential. We ask all students to sit an assessment paper before the start of the course. This helps us to assess your suitability for A Level Music study. On this basis, we can also make recommendations as to whether you would benefit from the extra support of ‘referral’ lessons in theory and analysis. Click here for more information about the distance-learning course.

If you are interested in the possibility of joining the course, please email Penny Davis and we will arrange a discussion for you with the course leader.

Student and parent feedback

“I just wanted to say how impressed as parents we have been with the running of the whole course.”

AL1 Parent

“It has been heart-warming for us to have felt so supported by you and all the staff at Junior Trinity.”

AL2 Parent

“I wanted to express my gratitude to you for all your help and support this academic year. I have thoroughly enjoyed the course, and I consider that I have progressed considerably.”

AL1 Student

“Thank you for everything over the past two years. I really loved the course!”

AL2 Student

“I am proud of what I achieved during the A-Level music course at Junior Trinity, as I feel I was able to excel in all parts of the course due to the support from all my teachers, who pushed me to achieve my full potential.”

AL2 Student