Arts Award Bronze

Four classes have now completed the Arts Award Bronze as part of our ‘Essential Knowledge’ offer. Students completing this award have developed their skills on the ukulele, had the opportunity to share an arts experience with their peers and to be the teacher sharing their specialist arts skills. We await a moderator in mid-March who will have a fantastic time seeing all the hard work the students have done! You can see a small selection of the work completed by the students below. We hope you enjoy!

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Music Tuition

Music lessons are always available here at PGHS and it is never too late to sign up to a new challenge! Music Tuition at PGHS is available for brass, woodwind, string, drum kit, voice, guitar, piano and keyboard. Lessons are £72 per term, with 32 lessons in a school year. If your daughter would like to sign up for tuition, then please click on the following link for more information and the sign-up form: https://www.penworthamgirls.lancs.sch.uk/curriculum-information/music2/music-tuition/

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Music and Verse Evening

On Wednesday 8th February, we held our ‘Music and Verse’ evening. 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 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.  Each year, the Year 11 cohort choose the charity they would like to support on the evening and all the proceeds go to the designated charity. This year was no exception, with students choosing to support Save the Children’s Turkey-Syria Earthquake Campaign. 

The latest reports say that more than 11,000 people have been killed and thousands of families have been forced from their homes , exposing them to freezing winter temperatures and snowstorms. Rescuers are racing against time to reach children trapped under rubble.  Save the Children are operating hand-in-hand with long-time partners across northwest Syria and Turkey. Together, they are assessing what children and their families need, so they can deliver emergency relief. The evening raised a total of: £41.17. A fantastic evening, raising money for a very worthy cause. Well done, everyone! 

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Halle Orchestra at the Bridgewater Hall

On the 16th January a group of 46 students headed out to Manchester’s stunning Bridgewater Hall to experience a unique concert experience alongside students from all around the North West and beyond. The Halle orchestra’s ‘The Orchestra Through the Ages’ concert took pupils on a guided tour of music from the Renaissance period right through to the twenty first century. The concert featured soloists from the Royal Northern College of Music which really gave the students something to aspire towards. Our students were particularly blown away by the performance of Steven Schwarz’s ‘Defying Gravity’. This was a unique opportunity to see and hear it and was not only performed by a fabulous vocal student but was accompanied by the full symphony orchestra. One of the memories that will stay with me was when the concert presenter, Tom Redmond demonstrated a musical idea using a 9 foot Alpine horn!

It was a fantastic opportunity for our year 10 and 11 GCSE students to hear pieces performed live that they are currently studying as well as hearing some of the tricky concepts broken down with the help of the full orchestra.

“I thought the concert was fantastic! It was incredibly interesting and engaging. All the music was brilliant but I particularly loved Berlioz’s ‘March to the Scaffold’ and ‘Defying Gravity’ from Wicked.”  Sea B Year 10

Mrs Little

Music Department

Primary Music Roadshow

On Wednesday 14th December, the music department went on a mini roadshow to entertain and inspire students at both Penwortham and Cop Lane Primary schools. Students performed as part of the brass and woodwind ensemble and then the orchestra with some students entertaining with solo performances. It was fantastic to see their school halls so full of excitement and enthusiasm. We hope to see some of the students performing here at Penwortham Girls’ with us in the near future!

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher

& Curriculum Leader for Music

Christmas Celebration

On Monday 12th December, we hosted our annual Christmas Celebration to a sell out audience in the school hall. There were some outstanding performances from the drama group, dancers and musicians alike who truly got us all into the spirit of Christmas.

The drama group retold the classic poem ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ which enchanted the audience from beginning to end whilst Y7&8 and Y11 dancers entertained the audience with their Christmas Dance Mash-ups.

There was an eclectic mix of music from the music department this year with the usual superb performances from our regular brass and woodwind ensembles, choirs and orchestra and some fantastic new additions including music from our ukulele group, hand chime ensemble and GCSE Music groups to name a few.

The evening was a tremendous success and enjoyed by all who attended. Huge congratulations to all who took part. Merry Christmas!

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher & Curriculum Leader for Music

Stroke Association Concert

On Monday 18th October, we held our very first ‘Music and Verse’ evening. 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.  It also gave our Year 8 students the opportunity to perform their LAMDA pieces and provided a small number of ensembles the chance to perform 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 verse and prose in preparation for their upcoming assessments.

Each year, the Year 11 cohort choose the charity they would like to support on the evening with all proceeds going to the designated charity. This year was no exception, with students choosing to support The Stroke Association. The Stroke Association are the UK’s largest charity dedicated to helping with the emotional, practical and financial cost of stroke.  They fund research into ongoing rehabilitation that could help stroke survivors live fuller and happier lives. They provide specialist support and campaign to make sure people affected by stroke get the very best care. The evening raised a total of £70.61. A fantastic evening, raising money for a very worthy cause. Well done, everyone!

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher

& Curriculum Leader for Music

The Lion King

48 students had an absolutely fantastic night at The Lion King in Manchester on Wednesday, 9th November. We had superb seats in the circle and the performance mesmerised both students and staff alike. The musicians were amazing and the acting and dancing were sublime. The costumes and puppetry were so outstanding, you almost forgot the characters were real people! 


Here’s what some of our students thought:

“I was completely in awe at such a creative and artistic performance.” Grace T

“Great costumes, set and excellent voices.” Katie K

“I didn’t realise my cousin was in it but he did an amazing job, along with everyone else!”  Brenda C

“The young Simba was very good at acting his scenes and included numerous modern-day lines.”  Skye H-M

“It was great.  Five stars!” Lily-Anna J

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

Literature and Languages Festival

Our Literature and Languages Festival took place from 10th October to the 21st October. A variety of activities, competitions and events took place and it was a huge success. Please click the link below to view the newsletter articles about the festival.

An Evening of Music and Verse

We would like to invite you to our Music and Verse Evening on Monday 17th October from 6pm in the School Hall. All proceeds will go to the Stroke Association as chosen by our Y11 GCSE Music students. Tickets are available on ParentPay and we hope you will be able to join us. 

Mrs Cattanach

Associate Assistant Headteacher and Curriculum Leader for Music

  • Arts Council England - Artsmark Gold
  • Lancashire Socio-economic Equality Badge
  • SMART
  • UNICEF
  • School Mental Health Award
  • Ofsted - Outstanding Provider
  • Arts Council England - Artsmark Gold
  • Lancashire Socio-economic Equality Badge
  • SMART
  • UNICEF
  • School Mental Health Award
  • Ofsted - Outstanding Provider