Music Test Information

Please refer to our Key Dates page for the timetabled dates. 

Children who wish to sit the Musical Aptitude Test must live within one of our Local Priority Areas.

Children may only take the Entrance Tests for admission to Year 7 once.

Registration takes place when children are in Year 5 and is open between May and June (exact dates are available on our Key Dates page). We are unable to consider any registration requests after the closing date for registration.

The first test takes place in early September when children are starting Year 6.

Our Musical Aptitude Tests do not require a child to have any knowledge of music theory,  formal music training or attainment of a particular grade level. Please do not send in any supporting material/certificates of aptitude/ability as these cannot be taken into consideration.   

Emails with exact timings and further details will be sent out before the end of the summer term.

There are no practice samples available for our music test.

Overview of the Musical Aptitude Tests

The Governor.s Musical Aptitude Test consists of two stages: Test 1 and Test 2.

Musical Aptitude Test 1:

This is a written test, taken with other children, and is approximately 30 minutes in duration. The test is based entirely on aural responses.

There are 60 questions of four types: Pitch, Melody, Texture and Rhythm.

Pitch: Candidates listen to pairs of sounds and indicate whether the second sound is the same as the first, or whether it is higher or lower in pitch. Some intervals are less than a semitone apart (i.e. very close in pitch). This section consists of 20 sound pairs.

Melody: Candidates listen to pair of short tunes, each consisting of  five notes. In each pair, they decide whether the second tune is the same as the first or whether one note has been altered. If a change is present, they identify the position of the altered note by number. This section consists of 10 tune pairs.

Texture: Candidates listen to chords (several notes played together) and identify whether each chord contains 2, 3 or 4 notes. This section consists of 20 chord recordings.

Rhythm: Candidates listen to pairs of rhythmic patterns. Each pattern is four beats (or pulses) in length. In each pair, they decide whether the second pattern is the same as the first or different, and identify where any difference occurs. This section consists of 10 rhythm pairs.

Musical Aptitude Test 1 Results:

Results will be emailed after the test date.  For specific dates, please see our Key Dates page.

Candidates achieving less than 50 marks are not eligible for further consideration under our Musical Aptitude criterion and will not progress beyond this stage.

Candidates achieving 50 marks or above will be invited to progress to Musical Aptitude Test 2. 

Musical Aptitude Test 2 – Individual Performance Assessment:  

Each candidate is allocated a 5 minute time slot to perform on their preferred instrument(s) including voice. 

Candidates may choose any piece(s) to perform and may use more than one instrument within their allocated time if they wish. The school can provide an accompanist if required, however, candidates are not permitted to bring their own accompanist. Alternatively, candidates may perform with a backing track. 

Second Round Test Results and Ranking

In  October we will email parents of candidates with the ranked position of their child and the lowest ranked position offered in recent years. These emails do not constitute an offer of a place at the school but are given for information only and may be helpful to parents when making secondary school applications.

Parents who wish to apply for a place at Dame Alice Owen’s School must include it as one of their preferences via their home Local Authority secondary transfer application.

Access Arrangements information

Illness on test date:

Children who are unwell on the test day (a medical certificate will be required where possible) or who are unable to attend for religious reasons (proof will be required) will be offered one further test date. Notification must be within 12 hours of the tests taking place.

We would appreciate if you could refer to our comprehensive FAQs list before contacting the school, as you may find the answer there. This will enable our Admissions Office to prioritise urgent enquiries.