FUN IN THE SNOW!

Our area co-ordinators in Yorkshire were enjoying their white stuff last week and sent us this lovely picture of a very talented snowman!

PRAISE FOR MR WHITE IN LINCOLNSHIRE!

Our tutor Mr White in Lincolnshire has clearly been working hard and upholding the MfSF standards in his schools!  Nick has worked for Music for Schools since 2006 and we are very impressed with the continued positive feedback from parents such as Mrs Thorpe:

"I would just like to let you know how much my daughter Imogen enjoys her lessons with MFSF.

She has had 2 terms of lessons with Mr White at Langtoft Primary School, who she really likes and is getting on brilliantly. So well, her and her friend ( who has flute lessons with the same Mr White) have entered the school talent show and are working on a duet together.

As a parent I try to give my child the opportunities I never had and I am delighted that she is not only learning a musical instrument but enjoying herself too.

Thank you Mr White and keep up the fantastic work."

Julie Thorpe (parent of Imogen at Langtoft Primary School, Lincs)

KENT TA BAND EVENT

Back in the Summer holidays, Kent tutor Mr Tony Thornton approached us and asked if we would like to join forces with the Kent Army Cadets to hold a band event in Canterbury.  We were only too happy to invite our pupils along and were very pleased that the day went ahead very successfully on Sunday 22nd November.  Mr Thornton has provided a note by note summary of the day here, and parent Mrs Sam Proctor had the following feedback:

"Dear All,

 Just a quick note to say a big thank you for the wonderful event held yesterday in Canterbury. My son Guy had a super day making music with others and I think has benefited enormously for it. He has been having lessons with your good selves for approx 2 years much of which has been on a one to one basis, what yesterday gave him was the joy of playing with others and the sound that was made was truly astonishing.  

Please could I ask that you share our thanks with Mr. Thornton and his team who made the day such a success."

We would like to thank Mrs Proctor for allowing Guy to attend and for taking the time to let us know how much he had enjoyed himself!  We look forward to running more workshops in the coming year.

Revised Fees for 2009

As advised in our newsletter, unfortunately we have had to revise our tuition fees for the new academic year.  The price of your lessons will depend on a number of factors, for example if you are receiving group or individual lessons, or are in receipt of Working Tax Credit (where applicable).  Please see the table below for further information.

We hope that you will still consider our prices to be competitive and affordable.  Please do remember that by registering an email address you could save between £2 and £7 per term!

Sad Goodbyes..

It is inevitable at this time of year that we say goodbye to many of our pupils as they move onto Secondary school. We always like to hear about pupil's progress and one parent has been kind enough to share her experience of Music for Schools:

"My daughter started learning the flute in Year 3 with Mfsf at Ditton Junior School. Her tutor was Richard Milford. She is just about to finish Year 6 and go on to Rochester Grammar (a music specialist school), and I felt I had to contact you to tell you what a great 3 1/2 years Emily has had with Mfsf, and in particular to commend Richard for his wonderful tutoring. Emily has progressed from being a rather nervous 8 year old who took 3 months to blow a note on her flute, to a very confident 11 year old who is now working towards Grade 5, having gained two distinctions and two merits for Grades 1-4 on the way!
Mfsf lessons are so reasonably priced that they enable everyone to learn, which means that musical talent can be nurtured in all children, not just in those whose parents can afford the lessons!
Above all I would like to say what a warm, encouraging and patient man Richard is, and what a pleasure it has been to have him as Emily's teacher. He never had a cross word for her, and was interested in everything she did musically, not just in her flute practice. He was happy to prepare her for festivals and always went out of his way to help with any query or problem she encountered.
I'm sure that as she moves on to Grammar school she will always remember her great musical start as she continues her studies, both academic and musical. Naturally she will continue lessons there, it's just a shame Mfsf don't teach in secondary schools."

Thank you for these kind words and for taking to the time to send them into us. If you have any feedback you would like to share with us, feel free to write to us at the usual address or email us, info@mfsf.org.uk.

Exam Success!

We are delighted to announce that our Associated Board examination pass rate for 2007/2008 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 last year 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 in the Summer term 2008, 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!

We look forward to posting the 2008/2009 results over the Summer break.

Your Feedback.

We always like to hear from parents about their experiences with Music for Schools. One parent recently wrote:

"He has enjoyed his lessons immensely and loved having Mr Stott as a teacher. We are really sorry not to be able to continue with MfSF."

Many thanks for these kind words and if you have anything you would like to share with us, please email us at info@mfsf.org.uk

Music Evening!

One of our Cheshire tutors, Mrs Steer and her pupils from Pikemere school recently took part in a musical evening. The school band, lead by our tutor, played two numbers, to a great reception from both parents and teachers. All the Music for Schools pupils also performed either solo's and duet's, which took a great deal of practice and hard work. Mrs Steer said it was a really nice evening and she enjoyed meeting of the parents of many of her ppupils

We would like to extend our congratulations to all those involved in the evening, well done!

Many of our tutors organise events like this throughout the year and we love to hear about them. If you've taken part in a Music for Schools event or just played your instrument elsewhere, please let us know and we can share your acheivement with your fellow learners.

Testimonial!

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.

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