Everybody who has lessons with Stockport Music Service is eligible to take exams on their chosen instrument or voice. We recognise that not everybody wants to take exams, but for those that do, it is a great way of pushing themselves to progress and then publicly celebrate that success.

For the more advanced grades (Grade 6 upwards), students can also gain points towards their university entry requirements.

Exams can be taken in voice, jazz, rock & pop, any instrument we teach and music production, and we offer our students internationally recognised and accredited exams from Trinity College London, Rock School Limited and the ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music).

Your teacher will help you to pick the best exam for your needs and interests. If you are interested in taking an exam talk to your teacher first to make sure it is appropriate for you and then we can send you the links to our online booking forms.

You can find more information on each exam board we use and the exams they offer below.

ABRSM (Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music) exams have been around for over 100 years now and provide a variety of exams for singers and instrumentalists that are very popular with our pupils and parents. Traditionally, most of our students who wish to take exams use the Practical Grades exam option but more recently the ABRSM have introduced a Performance Grades option which some pupils may wish to use.

For pupils who have an interest in jazz music and improvisation there is also a graded Jazz exam option and you can find more information about all these exams by clicking here.

Trinity College exams are an alternative to ABRSM exams and cover largely the same instruments as the ABRSM with some slight variations on the exam requirements. For some pupils these variations make a difference and your teacher will help you to decide whether this is the best option for you.

As well as the more traditional instruments, there are also Rock & Pop exams that lots of our pupils take and these are available for guitar, bass guitar, drums, keyboard and vocals.

For more information on Trinity exams click here.

Rock School exams, as the name suggests, have offered a more contemporary take on graded music exams, which suits some instruments and pupils more than the more traditional exams we offer. As always, a discussion with your teacher will make sure you are entered for the best exam for you.

As well as instrumental and vocal exams, there is also a Music Production exam syllabus that caters for those pupils who are interested in recording and production skills.

You can find more information on their website here.