Like Evelyn Glennie music at primary and secondary school shaped my education and built my future - by the age of 14 I had had regular tuition on three orchestral instruments and went on to study music at university.
Ms Glennie is spot on when she says “Music plays a crucial role in a child’s development”, musical study and practice develops linguistic, motor and social skills. How many adults regret their lack of musical development and restrict their interest to listening?
It is worrying that so many primary schools, with outstanding exceptions, have music as a low priority or not at all: it is widely acknowledged that music needs to be introduced as early as possible to ensure access and competency later on.
Yet another example of politicians puffing themselves up with promises to improve the state of state education, then backing out when it’s time to deliver.
Music education is indeed in crisis - I have seen secondary schools which do not offer a GCSE in the subject, and primaries that ignore it altogether. Given that British pop and rock music is internationally acclaimed, it is fair to say that politicians are seriously failing the country’s children and their schools.
Tom Prunty Address supplied
