Students in Year 7 and Year 8 have an exciting opportunity this year to learn an instrument in Performing Arts class. It will form the centrepiece of the music curriculum within this subject.



As this is a core component of our music curriculum, all students will need to bring their instruments home to practice. Most written work will be completed within our class time, so the majority of students' homework will be to practice their instrument. This is a key advantage of our focus on instrumental learning, which allows for significantly improved student achievement, compared to only playing once per week in class.

Ballarat Christian College is supporting this program by covering the full cost of hire and normal servicing of instruments, as well as tuition, which will occur during Performing Arts class time. This significant investment by the college enables all students to take this opportunity.

All Year 7 students will learn a brass or woodwind instrument, and all Year 8 students will learn a string instrument. When the current Year 7 students progress to Year 8 in 2023, they will have the opportunity to learn a string instrument and to continue their 2021 instrument in private lessons.

The distribution of instrumental options amongst Year 7s considers a desire to group together compatible instruments for whole-class ensemble playing, which is an important part of instrumental learning.