Our Policy
Updated Policy. Academic Year 2019-2020
Welcome to the Academia! This document is designed for you to have all the information you need regarding how we work. However, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to ask!
Contact details: Maite Aguirre tel. 07733372723 email. academiademusicacb@gmail.com
Ethos
At the Academia de Música Cañada Blanch, we are passionate about music and we love teaching and sharing it with our students!
We pride ourselves on being able to offer high quality musical tuition that is tailored to the student’s abilities and interests. Our staff is formed by a highly qualified group of teachers, who combine their activity as pedagogues with their own musical career, giving our students the possibility to learn from experienced musicians who enjoy passing on what they know. Being inside the profession gives us the opportunity to teach our students comprehensively, and it also gives them the opportunity to see first-hand what being a musician is like.
Term length/number of lessons
The length of each term and as such the number of lessons, varies according to the Colegio’s own school calendar reflecting the exact number of available days. Taking the Autumn term as an example, there are fewer lessons on Mondays as there are two bank holidays. Half term week is understandably not factored into the number of weeks. There are usually 10 to 13 classes in a term.
Payment and cancellations
Payment is made in advance for the entire term. Each term has its own payment deadline. If the money isn’t paid into account by that date, the slot will be offered to another student in the waiting list. No student will be allowed to begin their lessons if payment hasn’t been received.
Cancellations from the student won’t be credited or reimbursed. Teachers may be able to reschedule but this is entirely at the discretion and availability of each individual teacher.
Cancellations from the teacher, where a teacher wasn’t able to attend class or provide a suitable replacement, will always be credited or reimbursed. They can also be rescheduled if teacher and student find a mutually convenient date on that very same term.
For more details, please refer to the terms and conditions of the Academia.
Follow up
We welcome and encourage that the parents and teachers build a rapport over the student´s progress (..motivation, interests, worries..). However, it is not always possible to engage in conversation after the class, since we need to carry on teaching other students. Parents are welcomed to try to arrange a meeting with the teachers at a suitable time, or else to reach them by phone or email.
It is very important that the students develop good practice habits and the parents' involvement is crucial. If you have any doubts about this, talk to your son/daughter’s teacher.
Concerts
There are 3 concerts at the end of each term. The students of Iniciación musical have their own event, the “open class”, for their parents to see their work during the first term. They then participate in the concert in the summer term.
The concerts begin always at 5.30pm and last approximately 2h. They are divided in two halves, each finishing with a small raffle. The concerts are entirely inclusive events and every student of the Academia is invited to participate. We do recommend that the advice of the teachers is followed when they consider that a student may not be prepared to play. However, it is entirely up to the student and family to make the final decision on this.
A programme with a running order is sent out the weekend prior to the concert. Students alternate their participation in the first or the second half each term.
Exam Entry
Pupils can be prepared for either Trinity Guildhall or ABRSM graded exams if they wish and the teacher believes they are ready to do so. The parent/tutor needs to sign up the student for the exam himself.
Further information regarding exam fees, syllabus, exam dates and regulations can be found on their respective websites: www.trinitycollege.co.uk and www.abrsm.org. Specific dates can be requested, but not guaranteed by either exam board. Note that ABRSM exam dates are scheduled during term time and often during school hours.