Hagley’s X block is home to the lively and thriving School of Music, a ‘School within a School’, which was set up in 2012 thanks to the inspiration and creative energy of former Principal, Brent Ingram, and former Hagley teacher, Sue McLachlan.

The School of Music (HSM) allows Years 12 and 13 students to pursue their passion in the musical field by devoting most of their time at school to furthering their musical expertise as a pathway to a career in some aspect of Music. Students also have the opportunity to gain University Entrance through the School of Music. Many of the HSM students go on to tertiary courses such as Ara Performing Arts, Massey University and MAINZ.

The students' musical interests are many and varied, be it heavy metal, rock, jazz, classical, pop, musical theatre, R&B, rap, hip-hop, composition/songwriting or DJ.  Many students already have a strong background in performance, but their involvement in the School of Music helps them meet up with other like-minded students to broaden their performance opportunities in festivals and competitions such as Smokefree Rockquest, JazzQuest, and Southern Jam. Likewise, our songwriters and composers will enter competitions like the Shakespeare Composition Competition, Play It Strange and In Tune to sharpen their craft. 

Currently the School of Music is led by Nanako Sato, an accomplished jazz musician who is part of the Garden City Big Band and the All Girl Big Band. Nanako also brings a high level of expertise and training in jazz composition and jazz performance. Nanako’s supporting acts in the School of Music are Van Elkayem and Kevin Roberts, whose specific talents, respectively, lie in Composition and Music Technology. Nik Densem (Year 12 and 13 Media Studies, History and English) and Zac Knight (Year 13 English) deliver specifically music-related unit of works that cater for School of Music students. “We are very fortunate to have such dedicated staff members who are passionate about the subject they deliver and it gives us sheer joy to have students who are so gifted and talented,” says Nanako.