Lucy Lockwood

I am a fully qualified Music teacher and I teach 11-18 year-olds at a secondary school in Crawley, West Sussex. I have been there for 6 years and it has given me some amazing opportunities to develop professionally as a musician. Being a teacher forces you to regularly step out of your comfort zone within your subject area. For example I have had to conduct bands/orchestras- which I have had no previous experience in doing, set up and run an A Level course and successfully guide students through it year upon year, and teach fun and exciting lessons about areas of music that I have limited or no prior experience of such as Gamelan, Raga, Serialism etc

As with any professions, teaching has its challenges but I must say it has its rewards too. As a teacher you must remember that you will be making a direct impact on a young person’s life. Perhaps the students don’t always see things like this, but it is vital for a teacher to be professional, supportive and in some cases inspirational. The one thing that my students keep telling me is that they really like the fact that I still have real passion for the subject that I teach. That is really key, especially in a subject like music. I couldn’t imagine anything worse that being taught by a music teacher who had no passion for the subject. You have to love your subject to make it come alive, which in turn will capture students’ imaginations.

I decided that I wanted to teach music about 18 months after graduation. When I graduated I did not have a clue what I wanted to do. My life had always been in education - I went straight from school to University with no gap year and I found it really difficult to adjust to not having the structure that school provided. After trying lots of different jobs that were completely un-related to music I re-kindled my joy for the subject. I then started thinking about how I could make music my job and teaching was an obvious choice for me as I have always enjoyed working with young people and helping them achieve things. I applied for my PGCE, got thought he interview and got a place on the course.

Over the last year I have started to consider my teaching career and where I would like to go from here. I am at a crucial stage in my professional development and need to make decisions on how I progress. Due to serious health reasons I had to take the decision to go part time with my teaching post. Financially this was not viable so I had to find a way to utilize my skills as a teacher but in a less ‘physical’ environment. This was the catalyst to start up my own business that offers piano tuition, vocal coaching/singing lessons and exam support/tuition (both academic and extra curricular.) This is just the initial stage of this next venture but I am pleased I had the initiative to do it in the first place. My experiences as a classroom teacher have been invaluable and have equipped me with the skills to excel in one to one tuition.

Brunel really set me up well for a career in music. I left University feeling valuable and valued in the musical profession. It also really instilled into me that music is an important subject. As a music teacher you will regularly come across people who belittle the merits of the subject so it is handy to have a few counter arguments up your sleeve!! Brunel helped shape me into an autonomous, self-motivated and driven person and the support that the tutors offered was invaluable. The course helped me believe in my abilities and capabilities as a musician and perhaps that is why I feel it is so important to share my experiences with a wider community.

Brunel’s music course comes highly recommended from me. I wouldn’t have thrived on a more ‘traditional’ or ‘classical’ course and the options that were available at Brunel suited my skills and interests. Every year when my students ask my advice about which University to choose I always get them to look at Brunel (if I think the course would suit their particular skills) and I may be biased but I would love all my students to end up at Brunel!!