Watford Grammar Music 11+

[Kohaku]

Hi all,

Has anyone gone through the 11+ music test (SW Hertfordshire Consortium)? they say not ability but aptitude, does that mean, someone even with Grade 1 equivalent level can pass through ? ie. they pass the initial listening test and then play a basic piece of music really well.

Thanks

Haven't done Watford, but DD sat a lot of music aptitude tests when she was in Y6.

Every school had it's own system. A lot of the schools had a Music Aptitude Test which you could potentially do very well on without being at very high grades. Several had systems where you sat the test and the top 50 scores then came back for performance parts with the top 2 scores in the MAT getting an automatic place, and the other places being MAT score and performance scores combined.

I would say that to do well on the MAT you would need a degree of musical theory knowledge and a very good ear. Children who have been playing for a long time and are at high grades will have an advantage in that their ears are trained and they will know what 'pitch' is etc, but then those children probably also have the 'aptitude' that the schools want as well.

I would give the school a call and check exactly what the criteria are - DD did about 7 schools and none were the same.

ETA: Also make sure your child is actually interested in music - places do not come without strings attached - having to take music GCSE as an option, take part in choirs/orchestras/groups. DD basically lives in the music department which is where she would be anyway, but might not suit other children.