Andrew Lloyd Webber: “There’s a proven way to bring music to state schools”
“Dame Katherine McDowell is spot on. The Managing Director of the London Symphony Orchestra says that state school children are increasing being deprived of a classical music education and the chance to learn an instrument.
Classical music must not be the preserve of the rich. There should be a proper programme that makes music available to students in every school. Luckily a proven programme exists, thanks to the Music in Secondary Schools Trust (MiSST).
For more than ten years the trust has provided musical instruments and weekly music tuition that have transformed disadvantages schools and their pupils. This September 20,000 pupils in years 7,8 & 9, all in disadvantaged areas, will receive a free instrument and a weekly music lesson.
After decades of work MiSST can prove that learning classical music leads to a remarkable improvement in academic standards and behaviour – and, thanks to playing in an orchestra, awareness of being a team player. So effective has this been that it is now pioneering a free voluntary Saturday programme which is proving hugely successful.
Two months ago i attended the MiSST 10th anniversary concert at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. I was overwhelmed. Hundreds of children came from all over the country came together and played classical music to a packed house. Many had never been to London before.
The annual cost of the MiSST scheme is only £200 per child, peanuts compared with the benefit it gives not just to the child but to the whole community in terms of improved behaviour and a sense of achievement. MiSST has all of the data needed to prove to the government that is shoudl support the scheme. Eighty schools are on the waitign list to join but lack of funding means it cannot invite them.
I am a major supporter of the trust and have repeatedly lobbied government to adopt this proven programme, only to be met with a vague, fudgy nod. Whichever political party truly understands and embraces the importance of music in schools would get not just my vote but those of millions of parents proud to see what access to classical music has done for their children.”
Published by The Times, 28 June 2023
Written by Lord Lloyd Webber
