Music Archives - Penwortham Girls' High School

Quintet from the National Youth Jazz Orchestra visit PGHS!

Posted on July 17, 2024July 17, 2024 by Michelle Murray

On Friday 12^th July five members of the National Youth Jazz Orchestra visited Penwortham Girls’ and gave students in Y7 and 8 a real treat. Entertaining them with their fantastic music whilst highlighting the amazing opportunities out there for young people should they wish to take them. Sponsored by the Lancashire Music Hub, the quintet has visited a number of schools across Lancashire encouraging everyone to sing along and recognise the importance of Music.

The school roof nearly lifted off when everyone joined in with ‘Hit the Road, Jack!’ It was such a fantastic hour of music making and we are really grateful to them for coming along and sharing their expertise with us.

Mrs A Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

The Little Mermaid

Posted on July 16, 2024July 16, 2024 by Michelle Murray

On the 11th and 12th of July, students from Penwortham Girls’ took the audience ‘Under the Sea’ with their spectacular performance of ‘The Little Mermaid’.

Earning standing ovations both nights, the cast’s superb singing, stellar acting, dazzling dancing, and magical music left everyone in awe. Auditions were held before Christmas, and rehearsals began in earnest in January. Delivering a show of such professional calibre demanded immense commitment and dedication from every cast member, who sacrificed lunchtimes, after-school hours, and other activities to give their all to the production. Each member of the cast should be incredibly proud of their hard work and achievements, and we hope they have made many lasting memories from this fantastic production.

We also extend our deepest gratitude to the many staff members and parents who worked tirelessly behind the scenes to create costumes and design the set. Their generous contribution of time and effort was invaluable.

If you had the chance to be ‘Part of Our World’ and see the show, you would surely agree that it was a resounding success.

Thank you for your support – Team Mermaid.

Mrs A Cattanach, Associate Assistant Headteacher

Open Mic

Posted on June 10, 2024June 10, 2024 by Michelle Murray

On Friday 24th May, we organised an Open Mic to mark the end of a busy half term. It was also the final Open Mic for our Year 11 students who chose some iconic songs to bow out to! As usual, there was a fantastic atmosphere on the quad, with the girls all supporting each other and joining in with the singing. Congratulations to all the students that performed . Year 11, we will miss your voices next year!

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Make a Musical Instrument Competition

Posted on June 10, 2024June 10, 2024 by Michelle Murray

Year 7 have been learning all about the different families of instruments in the orchestra. We began initially with the brass family with the trumpet, French horn, trombone and tuba with students having the opportunity to create their own fanfare! Next, we had the woodwind family and learnt about the flute, oboe, clarinet and bassoon before moving onto the strings with the violin, viola, cello and double bass. Finally, students learnt all about the percussion family and how some instruments can be tuned and untuned. With all their knowledge in hand, students were tasked with creating their own musical instrument from recyclable materials and WOW, we had some fantastic creations!

Unable to choose one favourite, we decided to enlist the help of our Senior Leadership Team to choose a favourite each! So here we have the winners….

Mrs Hall’s favourite by Alisia J – 7S

Mr Ramsdale’s favourite by Gabriella R – 7S

Mr Ward’s favourite by Olivia B – 7P

Miss Barnes’ favourite by Rosie J – 7H

Mrs Honeyman’s favourite by Faith H – 7P

Mr Herbert’s favourite by Emily H – 7J

Mrs Sweeney’s favourite by Amelia N – 7H

Mrs Woodhouse’s favourite by Jaymi R – 7G

Mrs Cattanach’s favourite by Heidi A – 7P

Mrs Little’s favourite by Ivy G – 7G

As you can see, there were some absolutely brilliant instruments which could actually make a sound! Well done, everyone!

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Music Therapist

Posted on March 29, 2024March 25, 2024 by Michelle Murray

As part of the STEM festival, all year 8 students took part in a Music Therapy workshop. Music Therapy is an area of growth as we are becoming increasingly aware of how music can benefit mental health, memory and general wellbeing. Current research which our visiting music therapist is part of, has suggested that music therapy can potentially assist in reducing medication costs in the NHS and have a positive impact on so many people.

We were delighted to welcome Rebecca, a professional Music Therapist, and Ryan, a professional musician who plays with numerous orchestras around Europe. They began the workshops in complete silence, allowing students to explore instruments with no guidance whatsoever. Rebecca used her experience as a music therapist to mirror whatever students played and the music slowly grew and all participants were able to grow in confidence and explore their ‘sound-world’, as would so often happen within a music therapy session.

Students demonstrated curiosity in the different elements of Music therapy through asking some thoughtful questions about how music can help people living with a range of different conditions such as dementia. Rebecca and Ryan were able to share their own stories and they showed some powerful video clips of music therapy in action.

We look forward to linking this into our work in class on Music therapy and how music can promote positive wellbeing.

Mrs Little, Music Department

Open Mic

Posted on March 29, 2024March 25, 2024 by Michelle Murray

On Friday 23^rd February, we organised an Open Mic for the STEM Festival. A number of students performed some classic hits with a link to STEM. There was a fantastic atmosphere on the quad with the girls all supporting each other and joining in with the singing. Congratulations to all the students that performed.

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Music and Verse Evening

Posted on March 29, 2024March 25, 2024 by Michelle Murray

On Thursday 29^th February and as part of the STEM Festival, we held our second ‘Music and Verse’ evening of the year. The purpose of this concert was to provide our GCSE cohorts with the opportunity to perform to an audience in preparation for their future coursework submissions and to give our Year 8 students the opportunity to perform their LAMDA pieces to an audience. The evening was a tremendous success with all our students performing superbly. It was also fantastic to hear our Year 8 LAMDA students reciting their texts in preparation for their upcoming assessments. Good luck in your exam next week! It was the first time many of the students had performed in public alone and we are extremely proud of them all. The event raised £69.94 which will go to our nominated local charity: Preston Domestic Violence Services. Congratulations to everyone that took part.

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Winter Showcase

Posted on December 19, 2023December 19, 2023 by Michelle Murray

On Wednesday 13^th December we hosted our very own ‘Winter Showcase’ with an eclectic mix of dance, drama and music. The first half saw the choir, brass group, orchestra, woodwind, bells and ukulele group as well as both Y10 and 11 music classes. We were treated to music from Jingle Bells to Last Christmas and all the students who performed were absolutely fantastic. We also had two brilliant dances from KS3 students dancing in both cheer and street styles. The second half of the concert was dedicated to Mrs Pomeroy who has been a massive supporter of the Performing Arts Department throughout her time here. The Performing Arts group gave a superb rendition of ‘When I Grow Up’ and ‘Revolting Children’ from Matilda, which was followed by a dance to ‘Better When I’m Dancing!’ and a selection of songs from the musical Les Miserables by our KS4 vocalists who were tremendous. Students rounded off the evening with performances of ‘You Raise Me Up’ and a special version of One Direction’s ‘History’. The audience all left singing along to ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’. It was a superb evening and one which will live long in the memories of all involved. The Performing Arts team, staff and students, would like to thank Mrs Pomeroy from the bottom of their hearts for all her support and encouragement over the years and we wish her a happy retirement.

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher

Arts Award

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Michelle Murray

We are pleased to announce that following another successful moderation all students who completed their Arts Award last academic year have now officially passed and will receive their certificates in the Awards Assembly on the final day. The moderator was incredibly impressed with their work noting in her feedback ‘I was impressed by the range of Art Forms explored by the young people. All portfolios were beautifully presented, with a clear sense of sharing, creativity and personal reflection. The centre should be congratulated for the excellent work taking place.’ Well done, to everyone.

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher

& Curriculum Leader for Music

Creative Careers

Posted on December 7, 2023 by Michelle Murray

On Monday 13th November 15 Year 9 students visited UCLAN to take part in a Creative Careers event and had a fantastic time. They were able to listen to and ask questions of panelists including musicians, publishers and lecturers learning about their journeys into their respective careers. Following this, students had the opportunity to interact with students from Newman College who were leading a ‘Make your own Music Festival’ table task. Students had to create a name and then consider all the requirements of the festival including refreshments and camping! The students were a credit to the school and clearly enjoyed the opportunity.

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher

& Curriculum Leader for Music