Opening doors through a specialist music education

Bryony Bell on the sound of success at Chetham’s School of Music...

Chetham’s, in the heart of Manchester, is the largest of nine specialist Music and Dance schools across Britain, offering a world-class music education to 8-18 year olds with means-tested funding for 90% of students through the DfE’s Music and Dance scheme. The school’s musical accolades range from 5 star reviews in The Times to major competition successes – in recent years, Chetham’s students have claimed prizes in the BBC Young Musician competition, the BBC Proms Inspire composers’ competition, and the BBC Radio 2 Young Brass Awards, to name but a few. With that in mind, visitors to the school may be unsurprised to discover that its bespoke new building contains two floors of individual, acoustically-designed practice rooms, over 100 pianos, or an £8.7m award-winning concert hall; nor that every one of its 300 students enjoys an individualised timetable, including time for individual instrumental lessons, chamber and ensemble rehearsals, supported practice and music theory. What sometimes they forget, is that the top two floors of this unique building comprise classrooms, computer suites and science labs, where a dedicated team of teachers support students to achieve the strongest exam results of any non-academically selective school in Greater Manchester.

That level of success begins, says the school’s Head Alun Jones, with a simple question: what should an 18-year old musician look like? The answer, of course, includes the careful nurturing of prodigious talent – but it’s also crucial that students are socially aware, eloquent and informed. For many, the choice to study at Chetham’s marks the start of a journey to the professional concert platform, via conservatoires and orchestras throughout the world; for others, music remains a lifelong passion alongside careers in law, medicine, politics or academia. The key is in ensuring that doors are opened, and not closed; that by choosing music at what may be a very young age, students do not lose sight of other interests or talents.

Students joining Chetham’s quickly grow accustomed to packed school days and an ever-changing timetable, with music lesson times changing each week to avoid impacting unduly on any single subject. Practice before school and at lunchtime, and rehearsals continuing until early evening, can create what looks like a daunting schedule. For most students here, though, playing is as vital as breathing, and many have struggled to find a home in mainstream education, where their commitment to music set the apart from their peers. Chetham’s provides a space where they belong, and where their commitment is supported by their fellow students as well as by music, academic and pastoral staff. The three are closely connected, and in the weekly concerts meeting – where students are assigned to upcoming performance opportunities – the workload and wellbeing of each young musician is as important a factor in each decision as the quality of their playing. A reduced concert schedule throughout May and June allows students to focus on public exams, and academic visits to study French in Paris, or geography in Iceland, are planned alongside musical tours to Poland, Italy and across the UK.

Since joining Chetham’s in 2016, Mr Jones has prioritised students’ welfare, increasing non-musical activities for boarders, opening up new channels of communication between students, staff and parents, and expanding already strong links between the school and Manchester’s professional music sector. Chetham’s First Scouts now meet weekly, and have held their first camping trip; prefects and school council members come together regularly to talk through elements of school life from uniform to catering. “It’s essential that we ensure that students have a chance to grow as young people, as well as young musicians,” Mr Jones explains. “They come to Chetham’s from such a wide range of backgrounds, from different cultures and social groups, and find a common language through music. It’s our job to help them use that language as a starting point to discover who they are as adults, to choose careers, and to build the skills they need to succeed – whatever path they choose to take.”

A careful balancing act – but no more so than for a student in mainstream school who is also involved in youth orchestras or sports. Bringing these elements together within one organisation – in which students live, study and play across a single site – ensures a symbiotic relationship across departments to form a single, supportive community. A recent conversation with students asked them to sum up Chetham’s in three words. Music came surprisingly low on the list – so central to their lives, it barely needed to be mentioned. They talked instead about family, inspiration, professionalism, fun – a space where they are free to follow their passions, a base from which to start whichever journey they may choose.