For Schools
From first mix to live set: serious musical learning, delivered in a format that encourages pupils to learn new musical and transferable skills.
DJing Lessons
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DJ Workshops
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DJ Days
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Nightclub Experiences
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Teacher Workshops
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DJing Lessons ✳︎ DJ Workshops ✳︎ DJ Days ✳︎ Nightclub Experiences ✳︎ Teacher Workshops ✳︎
Bring DJing into your school
DJing offers schools a powerful new way to engage pupils in music: combining creativity, technology, listening and performance in a format that feels immediately relevant.
Learning to DJ develops genuine musical understanding: pulse, tempo, phrasing, structure, texture, harmony, frequency and critical listening all sit at the heart of the process. Pupils learn to make musical decisions, respond in real time and perform with confidence.
Novice to Nightclub can work with schools at almost any stage. We can arrive with a complete mobile set-up and deliver an unforgettable first experience, work with pupils over a longer programme, train Music staff to introduce DJing themselves, or help a department establish DJing permanently within its curriculum or co-curricular provision.
From a first mix in the classroom to performing a live set, the aim is always the same: serious musical learning delivered through an exciting, contemporary medium.
What We Offer
Workshops for Pupils
A Novice to Nightclub workshop can be anything from a first introduction to DJing to an intensive full day of practical music-making.
Shorter sessions introduce pupils to the fundamentals: cueing, beatmatching, mixing and the structure of electronic music. A full-day workshop allows pupils to progress further, exploring skills such as phrasing, EQ, filters, looping, effects and set-building. Schools can choose to work intensively with one group or divide the day into several workshops so that more pupils can take part.
These sessions work particularly well for enrichment days, Activities Weeks, Music Department events, GCSE recruitment, co-curricular programmes and special projects.
No existing DJ equipment is required. We bring AlphaTheta DDJ-FLX2 controllers, iPads and the music needed for the session, creating a complete temporary DJ classroom within the school.
The emphasis throughout is on participation: pupils spend their time actually DJing, rather than simply watching someone else demonstrate.
Teacher Training & Curriculum Development
For schools wanting DJing to become a lasting part of their Music provision, we offer practical training for teachers alongside curriculum and set-up support.
A full-day Music Department workshop can take staff from complete beginners through the core skills required to teach DJing confidently. Alongside learning to use the equipment, we can explore how DJing can sit within a Key Stage 3 curriculum, how lessons can be sequenced, which tracks work effectively for teaching, and how musical concepts such as phrasing, structure, harmony and texture can be taught through DJ performance.
We can also help departments develop a complete scheme of work, prepare teaching playlists and cue points, establish Rekordbox workflows and think through practical classroom organisation and assessment.
For schools establishing their own provision, we can advise on controllers, devices, software and music-library set-up.
The aim is not simply to deliver a workshop, but to leave teachers with the skills and resources to continue independently.
From Novice to Nightclub
For schools wanting something more ambitious, Novice to Nightclub can become a complete performance journey.
Across a series of sessions, pupils progress from their first mix to preparing and performing a coherent DJ set. They develop increasingly sophisticated skills in beat-matching, phrasing, EQ, looping, effects, harmonic mixing and set-building, while learning how DJs shape the energy of a live performance.
The programme can culminate in a school showcase, festival or special event; schools can also choose the full Novice to Nightclub experience, with pupils performing in an authentic nightclub-style environment.
Longer programmes can also be combined with teacher training, allowing staff to learn alongside pupils before taking over the provision themselves. Schools wishing to establish permanent DJ teaching can then invest in their own equipment with support over purchasing, set-up and curriculum planning.
The scale is flexible. What begins as a two-hour introduction can become a club, curriculum unit, outreach programme or a genuine live performance experience.
“After the unforgettable performances at XOYO nightclub, the parents were in awe of what their children had learnt and accomplished over such a short period of time.
The DJ programme has had an incredibly positive impact on many children at Westbridge.”
— Mike McNally, Head Teacher, Westbridge Academy
LET’S MAKE SOME NOISE
Whether you're curious about bring DJing into your school, looking for an innovative and creative workshop, or trying to mix it up on an inset day for your staff, drop us a message and we'll loop in the best person for you.
We look forward to hearing from you!