APRA AMCOS Calls For Review Of NSW School’s HSC Music And Drama Syllabus

Music management organisation APRA AMCOS are calling on a review of the HSC syllabus for music and drama in New South Wales schools after the NSW Education Standards Authority (NSEA) proposed drastic changes that’ll affect year 11 and 12 students' final examinations.

A petition by the Australian Society for Music Education and Drama NSW (which has since been closed at the writing of this article) addressed to the NSW Legislative Assembly is a response to the NSEA’s proposal of cutting down on musical performances in the HSC in favour of longer written aural exams.

If the HSC syllabus were to go into effect under the NSEA’s changes, assessable performance opportunities for Year 12 students studying Music 1, a course designed for art and music students to build their skills, would be reduced. This will also mean the removal of composition and musicology electives and the innate importance of performance and songwriting for developing students-turned-artists. These effects hold the potential to reduce enrolment rates and will have ongoing impacts on the health and sustainability of the NSW music sector.

The proposal also does not align with the recently announced NSW Contemporary Music Strategy, contradicting the plan’s goals of supporting contemporary musicians and providing young, emerging artists with the tools, skills and opportunities they need in the current music industry landscape.

Australian singer-songwriter Gordi said that studying music in high school was an opportunity not many are afforded today given the declining funding and care put toward music and arts education.

“I finished high school in 2010, and by any standard I was extremely lucky that my school offered music as a subject. Most don’t, and those numbers are falling,” she said.

“The mandated curriculum left me completely uninspired and doubting there was any way I could make a living from music out in the real world. I was desperate to find my own musical voice, but was only encouraged to mimic the voices of men that had been dead for centuries.  

“Imagine the head start I might’ve had if someone had actually taught me how to do that; how to find my own voice and be a successful musician in today’s world.”

APRA AMCOS are now urging the NSW Parliamentary Enquiry into Arts and Music Education to postpone its final report to ensure that voices from all industry stakeholders in the music and education sectors are listened to and that the proposed changes can be re-evaluated. 

CEO of APRA AMCOS Dean Ormston said the proposed changes are “setting kids up to fail”. 

“As a former music teacher myself, these proposed changes to the curriculum are deeply saddening. By further reducing the HSC music and drama syllabus and restricting students to very dry, uninspiring course content and exam structures, we are setting kids up to fail,” he said.

“If we’re serious about creating the next generation of Australian songwriters who will go on to take on the world, then we need to start at the grassroots level and support them in school through both the curriculum, as well as specific, curated programs like SongMakers. 

“We urge educators, songwriters, composers and the music industry to add their voice to the significant concerns around the draft syllabuses and sign the petition for a review, so we can ensure the next generation of music stars from all walks of life have the strongest possible start.”