Victoria Chiles
About
I teach piano and keyboard to individual and small groups of students in the Corsham & Chippenham areas. I am a passionate musician and I enjoy seeing students progress and enjoy learning a new instrument!
Throughout my career I have worked with students of all abilities and I focus my teaching around what students want to achieve. It could be graded music examinations, preparing for GCSE/A Level/Vocational performance exams, performing in a concert, becoming more confident, composition skills, music theory or learning pieces that students are currently listening to. I adapt my teaching based on what each individual student wants to achieve and this means a very personalised approach is taken. Each student has an individual learning plan which is completed on a regular basis and enables parents to support with practise time at home.
I am also an experienced classroom music teacher and I am currently Head of Music at Corsham School. I teach students aged 11-18 and have experience in preparing students for GCSE, A Level and Vocational music & music technology exams. I really enjoy using technology as part of my classroom teaching and I also use this for individual piano/keyboard lessons. There are many ways that technology can be used as a performance/composition tool during individual lessons.
Qualifications:
PGCE Music Teaching Qualification (University of Bristol)
BA (Hons) Music Degree (Bath Spa University)
ABRSM Grade 8 Piano
ABRSM Grade 5 Music Theory
Member of the Musicians’ Union
What I / we help young people achieve
The most important thing is for students to enjoy learning the piano/keyboard. I also focus on good technique, confidence and a wide range of musical genres/styles. I ensure that the student is learning well, enjoying the process and focused on what they personally want to achieve in both the short and long term.
Opportunities for children & young people
- To learn to play an instrument and / or develop skills on an instrument
- To create / write music and / or lyrics
- To play, perform music with others
- To learn things about oneself , other subjects or life-skills through musical activity
- To develop their wellbeing
Times
- Term Time
- After School
- Weekends
- School Holidays
Working with special needs
I have taught students with SEND throughout my career. I often find music is a great way for students to express themselves!
Taught Instruments
- Piano / Keyboard
- Electronic / Computer Music
- Curriculum Music (Secondary)
- Music Theory
- Composition
Ages Taught
- 11-13
- 14-15
- 16+
Level Taught
- Beginners
- Intermediate
- Advanced
- Tasters
Qualifications, Grades & Certificates Taught
- Instrument grades
- Rockschool
Musical Clusters Covered
- Chippenham
- B-on-A / Corsham
- Calne & Melksham
My Training & Development
I attend regular CPD sessions throughout each academic year. Some examples of previous sessions I have attended are below:
- In School CPD sessions on: Teaching & Learning Techniques, Gender Bias, Behaviour, Marking & Feedback, Consistency, Curriculum Planning (twice a year from 2015-2020)
- PixL Heads of Music CPD (London – February 2015)
- AQA Composition Marking Training (Manchester – May 2017)
- GCSE Composition Techniques (London – May 2018)
- AQA Composition Moderation (Bristol – January 2019)
- Music Education Expo (London – March 2020)
- Decolonising the Music Curriculum (Online with Nate Holder – June 2020)
- Rap Club CPD (Online with Ben Turner – July 2020)
I also regularly meet with other music teachers either online or face to face to share best practice.