September 2025 | Cotswolds Arts Through Schools

Alison Balsom: Why State School Children Deserve Music Too

Article published on 1 September 2025

Alison Balsom warns of the decline in music education in UK state schools. World-renowned trumpeter Alison Balsom, who will perform at this year’s Last Night of the Proms and has been presenting the Proms concerts on the BBC, recently gave an interview to The Times (30 August). When asked about…

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Beautiful Willow Butterflies by pupils at Bladon primary school #cotswoldsartsthroughschools #letsgetartintoschools #makespaceforthearts #butterflies #willowworkshop 🦋

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Beautiful Willow Butterflies by pupils at Bladon primary school #cotswoldsartsthroughschools #letsgetartintoschools #makespaceforthearts #butterflies #willowworkshop 🦋

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Timmy took part in creating a sculpture shown in 2023 SAKL show. He came with the school before the show and then brought his parents to see his work during the show. Greeted at the door he was asked if he had helped make a sculpture – a timid nod. Which school – Kingham. What had he made – a bee. He was then greeted as an artist, hand shaken, told what an honour it was to meet an exhibiting artist. Timmy grew inches and beamed. For the next two weeks he was telling parents daily he was an artist! In all the exhibiting schools, teachers are reporting the enthusiasm and excitement art now generates having seen their work at a professional show.

Timmy

Kingham School
A young teacher said she could not cope with the new intake of 4/5 year old children post-pandemic. An experienced teacher was assigned. She said the children were feral – bit, kicked, jumped on desks, could not verbalise and were anti-social. This was the result of lock-downs and no nursery schools. For the first few weeks she used the materials in the art cupboard filled by SAKL to do art. The children could express their feelings on paper, started to chat, could sit and work together. She said it was art that made everything possible.

School Teacher
Johnny had not wanted to go to school post-pandemic. He was nervous and anxious. The one day of the week he has started to come is the day that starts with drama, which he loves. He then stays for the whole day’s lessons.

Johnny
The first two weeks of art club have gone really well. The kids love it! They don’t want to leave. In fact, we got told off by the Head yesterday for over running by 5 mins and they all did a big ohhhwww at the end!

Emma Cox

Artist
The resources arrived after a couple of weeks and are now being used and appreciated.

Gill Bray

Art lead at St Mary's, Chipping Norton
The children in KS1 had a wonderful time during their charcoal workshop today. They were all engaged and produced wonderful work.

Lucy Thomas

Art lead for Cold Aston, on the whole school workshop
I had a truly wonderful day on Tuesday and not only learnt a lot but also thoroughly enjoyed myself!

Michelle Hastings

Head of Great Rollright, following a teacher training day with Kingham Hill School
…the child who told his teacher that he did not want to come, that pottery is not his thing, and then proceeded to be SO enthralled by the whole experience.

Robyn Bissett

Community Learning Coordinator at Chipping Norton School on a highlight for her
I loved using the charcoal without reproachful adults worrying about our cleaness(sic)!

A participating child
It's fantastic! The children love art and music and it makes such a difference. On those days that is all that’s talked about after school and those are what she really wants to do, quite the best days of the week. Its great for her self-confidence, and makes her so enthusiastic.

Parent
If you’re gonna make connections which are innovative... you can’t have the same bag of experiences as everyone else.

Steve Jobs
If today’s children are to have jobs, they must be as unlike a machine as possible: creative, critical and original.

ITZA Inspire (learning provider)
Whether its problem-solving and deciphering complex patterns in music, improving speech and presentation skills in drama, or thinking outside the box in art, there are countless ways that creative subjects can make you a better mathematician.

Bobby Seagull, TV mathematician
The opportunity for young people to express themselves imaginatively and creatively, and in their own way, is one of the greatest opportunities you can give them.

Sir Steve McQueen (director of Oscar winning 12 Years a Slave)
"It is only by introducing the young to great literature, great drama, great music, great art, and the excitement of great science that we open to them the possibilities that lie within the human spirit and beyond the realms of the everyday, that we enable them to see visions and dream dreams."

Eric Anderson (former headmaster of Fettes, Abingdon and Eton)
"If you think you're too small to make a difference then you've never spent the night with a mosquito"

African proverb

Archive September 2025

Alison Balsom: Why State School Children Deserve Music Too