“I had a head who was not particularly musical,” she said. “However, he saw the need for every child to experience music. It was like our daily medicine.

“He got every member of the teaching staff and injected them with enthusiasm.

“If they happened to play an instrument he encouraged them to take part in musical activities. This meant that you could be sitting next to your maths teacher in the school orchestra.

“I struggled with maths, but my teacher was able to adapt his teaching methods to be more in line with my creativity as a musician. And somehow music lessons were free of charge.

“My brother has two young kids, and he wants to be sure that they have the opportunity he had when he learned the trombone in school. But he is having to pay for them, and now he has to count the pennies.”