The European School music curriculum encompasses four areas: cultural understanding, critical understanding, creativity, and communication. Students participate in a variety of active musical experiences, in which they learn to work as a group and also develop their own skills. They also take part in various forms of listening and responding to music. Here they will engage with a wide range of music, relate it to what they already know, place it within the European and global cultural context, and learn to discuss and write about their views. Students also explore music as an art form that can express thoughts, feelings, ideas, and emotions.



Students in S1 to S3 all have music two lessons per week. These lessons include active music-making, listening and responding, and composition and improvisation. The goal is to learn about a wide range of musical styles and contexts through personal experience. Students have the opportunity to learn new hands-on skills and participate in group music-making.

Music is not a required subject in S4 and S5, but an elective one that students may choose. It meets two lessons per week. This two-year cycle features in-depth study of five specific topic areas (e.g., film music, popular music, and European folk music) and the creation of an individual portfolio for each student. The portfolio can include video or audio recordings of performances, written or graphic compositions, presentations, electronic music, or other documentary evidence of their work. There is also a comprehensive written exam at the end of S5.

In S6 and S7 there are two options for students who choose music. The first option is a course that meets four lessons per week and leads to the music baccalaureate exam at the end of S7. During this course students work with music from the classical, jazz, and popular traditions, as well as music from around the world. Students continue to develop their performance, composition, and improvisation skills, as well as exploring various ways to write about music. They create individual portfolios similar to those in the prior cycle, and these portfolios form part of the exam mark. Students who prefer not to take the music baccalaureate exam may chose the second option, a course that meets two lessons per week. This course covers similar areas of study and students also compile individual portfolios, but they do not sit an external exam.

Art encourages self-expression and creativity and can build confidence as well as a sense of individual identity.  When children get a chance to express their creativity with art, they develop confidence, increase their empathy and discover how to look at the world from different perspectives.