Pupils, teachers and special guests gathered to celebrate the first anniversary of a pilot programme supporting talented young musicians.

The event, held on October 13, brought together around 35 pupils from schools across Central Bedfordshire who took part in a turntablism workshop at Sandy Secondary School along with young people from other schools enrolled on the Young Sounds UK Connect programme.

The programme was made possible by Inspiring Music, Central Bedfordshire Council’s music service, and Young Sounds UK, a national music charity.

Last year Inspiring Music was chosen to take part in the Department for Education’s Music Opportunities Pilot, which is being led nationally by Young Sounds UK via its acclaimed Connect programme.

Pupils took to the decks as part of a celebration marking the first anniversary of a programme organised by Inspiring Music, Central Beds Council’s music service, and national music charity Young Sounds UK

placeholder image — Pupils took to the decks as part of a celebration marking the first anniversary of a programme organised by Inspiring Music, Central Beds Council’s music service, and national music charity Young Sounds UK

Since then, 60 children who were identified to have musical potential, have benefited from being enrolled on the Young Sounds UK Connect programme, enjoying learning an instrument and other opportunities provided through the programme.

The Connect programme has been in development since 2008 and is designed to support talented young musicians from low-income families once free provision in schools has ended. Every child has access to free instrumental lessons, free instrument hire, a trained mentor, a personal bursary, and free access to their local music centre.  The programme now supports nearly 1000 young people across 23 different regions of England.

Cllr Steve Owen, Executive Member for Children’s Services at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “This celebration was a fantastic opportunity to showcase the achievements of the talented young people involved in the Connect programme.

"By working together, Young Sounds and Inspiring Music are making sure that every child can access music education and build their confidence, no matter their background or circumstances.” 

Neil Phillips, Connect Programme Director for Young Sounds, said: “It’s wonderful to be able to celebrate such a successful first year of this pilot programme. Our partnership with Inspiring Music has gone from strength to strength which really shows in the fantastic musical progress the young people are making. The pilot will run for four years and the learning we take from it will be shared across the whole music education sector, so this is hugely important work.”