December 2023

Dear Trinity College London South Africa community,

Firstly I'd like to thank you for the support shown to Trinity College London this year. With over 9,000 exams taken by South African candidates in 2023, it's clear that from a benchmarking, goal setting and professional development point of view, our exams are highly valued.

It's been a very busy year with many new offerings from Trinity, including the new Drama syllabus, new piano syllabus, and the new Repertoire Only digital exam pathway. Added to these, Trinity has very recently also released a new online way of taking theory exams, which we have described in more detail below. The new digital online theory option is designed to exist alongside the traditional written theory exams, and will be suited to people wanting to take their theory exams at different times during the year. It's also well suited to candidates who aren't located close to written exam centres. The Trinity SA team have yet to undergo our own training on the new online theory platform, but should be up to speed early in the new year ready to assist anyone keen to explore the online theory option.

Results for the November written theory sessions have not yet been released. We are hopeful they will be available next week and will distribute them as soon as possible. Apologies for the delay, we understand many teachers and students ideally want their results by the end of the academic year. 

I delayed this newsletter in order to include the 2024 exam fees. However the new price lists are only set to be released next week and so I'm sending this newsletter out now before the holiday period starts in earnest. I'll distribute the 2024 prices next week when they're available.

Most centres have closed digital exam entries for the year, or are closing this week. If for whatever reason you have entries still to process, please contact your local rep asap to find out if we can accept a late registration.

Wishing everyone a wonderful festive season break, and we look forward to reconnecting in the new year.

Best regards,

Peter

Peter Borchers - Trinity College London National Manager for South Africa, Botswana and Namibia

peter.borchers@trinitycollege.com

Digital/Online Theory

We are very pleased to announce that our brand new Digital Music Theory exams have recently been released are now available for booking. Visit the Digital Music Theory pages on the Trinity website to find out more. These exams will run alongside our written paper exams; there is no plan to remove the paper version.

Trinity’s Digital Music Theory exams offer all of the benefits of taking the exam at a convenient place and time, whilst retaining the integrity of the musical approach at the heart of Trinity’s music theory exams. Candidates can use all of our existing suite of workbooks and practice papers to prepare for the digital theory exams. All 8 grades are available immediately.

Western Cape Top Achievers Concert 2023

The Trinity Western Cape team ran a Top Achievers concert soon after the Oct/Nov face-to-face session. The concert showcased students who had excelled in the main end of year face-to-face session, with names suggested by the examiners.

As the first such event since COVID, we were uncertain whether the concert would be well supported. Any fears we had were unfounded and the hall filled to absolute capacity before the performers took to the stage. It was a great success, and a reminder of the talent that exists in our musical community. Well done to all the teacher and performers involved.

Next year we plan to incorporate the many outstanding digital exam results in such an event, which may mean we run multiple events through the year. We have also had exciting discussions about running a similar event for our drama candidates after the drama exam session next year Oct.

Trinity Western Cape High Acheivers Concert Performers

Add Yourself (or others) to the Mailing List

Please forward to interested parities.  

Hadassah Claassen-You and Me (duet)

Ishaan Gokhale-Bach Prelude in C

Freda Cilliers-You and Me (duet)

Caitlin-Water Sprite

Yihan-They're Getting Away

Madison Boswell-Water Sprite

Kirtana Sahdeo-Learning to Ride Country

Ada Goodrich-Water Sprite

Thandi Bosman-They're Getting Away

Viha Beechum-Water Sprite

Lia Nadoo-You and Me (duet)

Mahi Deodary-You and Me (duet)

Uminathi Masuku-You and Me (duet)

Rebecca Wiseman-You and Me (duet)

Ruvarashe Mbumbw-Water Sprite

The following videos didn't quite get enough reactions to qualify for the prize, but are still excellent performances worthy of sharing:

Abi Bogdanovic

Bea Kotze

Nathan van der Meulen-Bach Prelude in C

Talia-Water Sprite

Bach Prelude in C

You and Me (duet)

Savannah Pickering-A Peculiar Party

Keep us in the loop about our Trinity students (new & old) achievements at marketing@trinitycollege.co.za.

2024 - Face-to-Face Exam Dates

Digital exams can be entered at any time throughout the year. Face-to-face exam dates for 2024 are as follows (subject to adjustment):

Music/Rock and Pop

Face-to-Face 2024

May/June (Music)

• KZN - mid May 2024
• WC - late May 2024
• EC - late May 2024
• GP - early to mid June 2024

August (Music)

• Tentative Cape Town f2f music session in Mid-August 2024, depending on entry numbers. 

September (Music/RnP)

• KZN - Mid to late September

Oct/Nov (Music/RnP)

• Early Oct through to mid-November in all centres excluding KZN - both Music and Rock and Pop.

Drama

Face-to-Face2024 

The drama face-to-face sessions are planned for Sept, Oct and Nov 2024. While the exact dates per region have yet to be finalised, it is likely to mirror 2023 in which we ran the Jhb/Pta exams in Sept and the remainder of the regions' drama exams in Oct/Nov.