School Songs for Assemblies, Harvest, Christmas and KS2 Musicals
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses UK music words (bar, crotchet, stave); the US version uses measure, quarter note and staff. · US version of this page
Good school songs are short, repetitive and sit between middle C and the D above it, where most children’s voices are comfortable. Traditional songs and hymns whose writers died more than 70 years ago – such as “We Plough the Fields and Scatter” (1782), “Jingle Bells” (1857) and “Frère Jacques” – are in the public domain, so a school can sing and print them freely.
Updated 28 October 2026 · By the Classfern Music Department
- Comfortable range for children: C4 (middle C) to D5.
- In the UK, songs are in copyright until 70 years after the end of the year the last writer died.
- A new arrangement or translation can be in copyright even when the tune is not – use plain melodies or your own accompaniment.
- Every song on this page is traditional or by writers who died over 70 years ago; the tunes you can play are Classfern’s own simple versions.
- Harvest, Christmas and Easter songs below are grouped for KS1 and KS2 assemblies.
Play the tune, then sing it
The tunes are played by your browser. This page never uses the microphone, and nothing is recorded, saved or sent.
Press Play next to a song to hear Classfern’s simple version of the melody and see the note names as it plays. Press it again to stop.
| Song | Words and music | Good for | Tune |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frère Jacques (Are You Sleeping?) | Traditional French round | A round in 2–4 groups; KS1 and up | |
| Row, Row, Row Your Boat | American; words first printed 1852, tune published 1881 | Rounds and actions | |
| Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star | Words Jane Taylor (1806); French melody (1761) | First songs, evening and space topics | |
| London Bridge Is Falling Down | Traditional English | Singing games in a line | |
| Amazing Grace | Words John Newton (1779); American tune “New Britain” (1829) | Reflective assemblies | – |
| Michael, Row the Boat Ashore | African American spiritual (first written down 1860s) | Call and response | – |
| Shalom Chaverim | Traditional Hebrew round | Peace and friendship themes | – |
| Oranges and Lemons | Traditional English | Singing game with an arch | – |
| Song | Words and music | Good for | Tune |
|---|---|---|---|
| We Plough the Fields and Scatter | Words Matthias Claudius (1782), English by Jane Montgomery Campbell (1861); tune J. A. P. Schulz (1800) | The classic harvest hymn | – |
| Come, Ye Thankful People, Come | Words Henry Alford (1844); tune “St George’s Windsor”, George J. Elvey (1858) | Harvest festival | – |
| All Things Bright and Beautiful | Words Cecil Frances Alexander (1848); tune William Henry Monk (1887) | Nature and thanks; see the note below | – |
| Hot Cross Buns | Traditional English street cry | Food topics, first recorder or tuned percussion tune |
| Song | Words and music | Good for | Tune |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jingle Bells | James Lord Pierpont (1857) | Upbeat opener; add sleigh bells | |
| We Wish You a Merry Christmas | Traditional English | A cheerful finale | |
| Away in a Manger | Words anonymous (1885); tunes “Mueller” by James R. Murray (1887) or “Cradle Song” by William J. Kirkpatrick (1895) | KS1 nativity; the UK usually sings “Cradle Song” | – |
| Silent Night | Joseph Mohr (words) and Franz Xaver Gruber (music), 1818; English words John Freeman Young (1859) | Quiet candle-lit moment | – |
| Deck the Hall | Welsh tune; English words Thomas Oliphant (1862) | Fa-la-la for a big class | – |
| O Christmas Tree | German; words Ernst Anschütz (1824) | Singing in German and English | – |
| Good King Wenceslas | Words John Mason Neale (1853); tune from Piae Cantiones (1582) | KS2 storytelling | – |
| The Holly and the Ivy | Traditional English | Older classes | – |
| Up on the Housetop | Benjamin Hanby (1864) | Actions and fun | – |
What songs can we sing in a school assembly?
Choose short songs with repeated lines that everyone can learn quickly, in a range from middle C to the D above. Rounds such as “Frère Jacques” and traditional hymns work well for whole-school singing.
Plan one new song a fortnight and one the school already knows. Put the words on the screen in large print, sing each line for the children to echo, then sing it together. Use the 5-minute kids’ warm-up first.
What are good harvest songs for school?
“We Plough the Fields and Scatter”, “Come, Ye Thankful People, Come” and “All Things Bright and Beautiful” are the best-known harvest songs, and all three have public-domain words and tunes.
Copyright note: the popular “Royal Oak” tune for “All Things Bright and Beautiful” is a 17th-century folk melody, but Martin Shaw’s 1916 arrangement is still in copyright in the UK (he died in 1958). Sing the plain folk melody or W. H. Monk’s 1887 tune with your own accompaniment. Many modern harvest songs are in copyright, so we have left them out.
What Christmas music is good for KS2?
For KS2, “Jingle Bells”, “Deck the Hall”, “Good King Wenceslas” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” give a good mix of fast and slow; KS1 nativities often use “Away in a Manger”.
For a KS2 Christmas music lesson, try one song with a round or harmony part (“Frère Jacques” to new words works), one with percussion, and one quiet carol to practise dynamics.
What are fun Christmas and Easter music games for kids?
Freeze games, rhythm echoes and “guess the tune” games teach listening, pulse and dynamics while feeling like a party.
Christmas
- Freeze carols: play a tune; everyone moves and freezes when it stops (listening and pulse).
- Sleigh-bell echoes: the teacher shakes a 4-beat rhythm, the class claps it back. Then pupils lead.
- Guess the carol: play the first few notes with the Play button and stop it – who can name it?
- Silent Night dynamics: sing a verse as quietly as possible, then the chorus of “Jingle Bells” loudly – practise piano and forte.
- Pass the present: pass a wrapped box on the beat; whoever holds it when the music stops chooses the next song.
Easter
- Hot cross buns rhythm: clap “hot cross buns” (ta ta ta-a) and “one a penny, two a penny” (ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti ti-ti).
- Egg-shaker pass: pass an egg shaker round the circle exactly on the beat, getting faster.
- Hunt the egg, loud and soft: hide an egg; the class sings louder as the seeker gets closer and softer as they move away.
Judged by a teacher or parent (rubric) Watch for three things: keeps the beat, copies the rhythm correctly, sings or plays at the right volume.
How do you put on a KS2 musical?
Pick a story the class knows, give everyone a part (narrators and a chorus mean nobody is left out), and allow about eight weeks of rehearsals. Published school musicals need a performance licence; a show you build yourself from folk tales and public-domain songs does not.
| Week | Focus |
|---|---|
| 1 | Choose the story and songs; read through; hold auditions or share out parts. |
| 2 | Learn the songs – two a week, chorus first. |
| 3 | Block the scenes (who stands where); learn more songs. |
| 4 | Lines learned by heart for scenes 1–2; add actions to songs. |
| 5 | Whole run-through with scripts; make props and costumes. |
| 6 | Run without scripts; add the narrator and sound effects. |
| 7 | Dress rehearsal; practise bows and entrances. |
| 8 | Performances – warm up first with the 5-minute kids’ routine. |
Published musicals: shows from school publishers – including adaptations of Roald Dahl’s books – come with a script, songs and a licence you buy for your performances. We don’t reproduce them. Build your own: folk tales such as “Stone Soup”, “The Pied Piper of Hamelin” or “The Enormous Turnip” are traditional, and you can set new words to the public-domain tunes above. An Easter musical for KS2 can use “Hot Cross Buns”, spring rounds and a retold folk tale.
Why are some popular school songs not on this list?
Because they are still in copyright. We only list songs that are traditional or whose writers died more than 70 years ago.
Left out on purpose: “Morning Has Broken” (words by Eleanor Farjeon, who died in 1965), “Lord of the Dance” (Sydney Carter, 1963), modern harvest songs, and pop and film songs. “Happy Birthday” is also left out for now. Your school may hold a licence that covers copyright songs in assemblies – check with your school office.
From the Music Department
Classfern’s free school songs list on lessonplanner.info was put together by the Classfern Music Department. Each song’s dates were checked; the melodies you can play are our own simple versions. To sing along with note names and a range check, open the singing play-along.
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