An opportunity to showcase music at Gordon’s to visitors from the PTI (formerly Prince’s Teaching Institute). Carolyn Roberts and Rod MacKinnon from the PTI were here on Friday as Head of Academic Music, Rachel Brazendale (pictured above with the school's jazz band, Honk) is one of three teachers nationwide to have been nominated for the Institute’s Bernice McCabe Award. This annual award, promotes and celebrates excellence in subject leadership and recognises departments that put quality subject teaching at the heart of the classroom. As well as speaking to students, the PTI were treated to a rehearsal session with Honk.

Over the past three years, Mrs Brazendale has been responsible for introducing a range of instruments and events into the music department. She has collaborated with the Careers Department to stage events for students at Gordon’s and others in the area, to make them aware of  careers in the creative arts; launched academic enrichment competitions; introduced a ‘Dine and Discuss’ Society to discuss topical musical issues and a subsidised orchestral instrument scheme for students.

In October, Gordon’s learned that the PTI had awarded the school all eight of the possible PTI Subject Leadership Marks which recognise outstanding teaching in Art, English, Geography, History, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages, Music and Science.