Latest News

Exam Success!

We are delighted to announce that our Associated Board examination pass rate for this year is a fantastic 97.8%, with over a third of pupils acheiving a merit or above! Well done to all our pupils and tutors on excellent set of results, all that hard work was worth it in the end and we are sure you are all delighted.

A special mention goes to all the MfSF tutors who took exams this term as part of our professional development programe; a great set of results all round, with most tutors acheiving merits or distinctions.

Also, congratulations to our tutors and pupils who took exams at the Crewe centre this term, over 25% of candidates acheived a distinction!

Examinations are an exciting, but not essential, part of learning an instrument and new technology means that entering your child is now even easier. Once advised by your tutor, simply click here to register your child online. We will email you all the arrangements for the exam and even text you the result once it comes in!

Teacher Magic!

Our MfSF tutors work very hard to ensure every pupil reaches their full potential and we always like to hear about pupils' progress.

Mrs Redgrave-Roberts has sent us this lovely email:

"My son has just finished year 6 so hence ends his mfsf music lessons. He started playing the cornet during his 3rd year at Brereton C of E Primary school."

"He struggled on for a year making painfully slow progress and needing much encouragement from us not to quit. During his second year of lessons his tutor changed thankfully to Claire Puttick. She managed to re-kindle his interest and he continued for a further 12 months."

"However, once again he lost interest, announcing at the end of his summer holidays that he no longer wanted any more lessons. We explained to him that it was too late to cancel the next half terms lessons but promised to cancel the term after that if he so wished. I wrote to Mrs. Puttick explaining our dilemma (Miles was a very gifted musician and we were keen for him to continue his lessons). She was brilliant. She had a long talk with Miles and also telephoned me that evening. She introduced him to some more interesting and challenging tunes to play alongside his standard music book. She also moved his lessons so he could share them with an older boy. The most inspiring thing was that she introduced him to a local junior wind band, of which he is still a member (though of the youth section now)." 

"Miles went from strength to strength. He has just received his grade 3 results and has passed with a distinction. When I try to get Miles to play he turns into 'Kevin the teenager' and flatly refuses to practice. When Claire teaches him she tells me he is exceedingly polite and tries really hard for her. Whatever magic she has she should bottle it and sell it; she'd be a millionairess! Her enthusiasm and enjoyment for music is infectious, she is a real asset to your organisation. She's worth her weight in gold! "

We would like to thank Mrs Roberts-Redgrave for her kind words and congratulate Miles on his fantastic exam result! If you would like to share your MfSF experiences and feedback, please contact us at info@mfsf.org.uk.

Summer Fun!

Many of our teachers run bands and ensembles and the end of the year is a great opportunity for performances to showcase all of that musical talent:

Mr Davies, one of our MfSF tutors in Reading, took his band to play at the Shiplake Carnival at the end of July. It was the biggest band he has ever had, over 30 pupils in total. Their excellent playing was enjoyed by all and the commitee have already booked the band again for next year! Many thanks go out to the band and Mr Davies, we hope you all enjoyed the day.

Over in Wiltshire, MfSF tutor Mrs Hayes and her band played at their school fete. The trumpet section played a fantastic fanfare to announce the start of each activity and the whole band played along to the musical favourite, 'Any Dream will Do' from Joseph.

This is just a small selection of the many end of term concerts and special assemblies which take place all over the country. Congratulations to all our performers and thanks to our tutors for all their hard work!

We really like to hear about MfSF performances, if any pupils, parents or schools would like to send us a report of a MfSF event, please feel free to forward it to info@mfsf.org.uk. You never know, you might see your work published right here!

A fond farewell!

It's always sad when a teacher moves on. We have received this lovely email from Mrs Ketteridge and her daughter Georgina, who has been learning the clarinet :

"My daughter & I are very sad to see Mrs Wilson leave and thank her so much for all the hard work she has put in with Georgina. We cannot thank her enough and hope that the new teacher is just as good and encourages Georgina the same!

I am very grateful to Mrs Wilson and MFSF for giving my daughter the opportunity to play the Clarinet and long may it continue"

Thanks again to Mrs Ketteridge for taking the time to email us, we love to receive any feedback; from parents, pupils or schools!

Year 6 Leaver

Jamie from Goring Primary will be leaving us to go on to secondary school this summer and his mum sent in this lovely letter -

"Jamie has enjoyed his lessons with Mr Davies and is hopefully going to continue with lessons at his new secondary school. Thank you for giving Jamie the opportunity to learn the saxophone, at a very reasonable cost per lesson."

Testimonial!

It is always nice to hear from parents and pupils already learning through MfSF.

We have received a lovely email from Mrs Lock, whose daughter learns clarinet at De Vere Primary School in Castle Hedingham, Essex.

Mrs Lock had the following kind words to share with us.

"My daughter has clarinet lessons with Mrs Stopp and really enjoys it. She really likes the tutor, has done so well and it is so lovely to hear her play. Now her little sister wants to start, and I was so impressed with your organisation. If it wasnt for MfSF coming into my childrens school, my children wouldnt have had this opportunity to learn to play. The scheme is also such an affordable way to learn an instrument! I am genuinely very impressed!"

Thanks again to Mrs Lock for taking the time to let us know about her experience with us - we encourage all parents and pupils to email us if you have any other feedback for us!

Information for Schools

We have jotted down a few notes about Music for Schools that can be used on websites or in school newsletters. Please feel free to download the text following the link in the more info section.

Download associated files: Music for Schools Press Release