Arts participation is falling in state schools, with disadvantaged pupils hit hardest. Schools with the highest free school meal rates have cut arts hours furthest. Many children in our area have little or no access to music-making. We want to change that by bringing sustained, high-quality music projects to the schools that need them most.

We will target schools with high levels of pupil premium and SEN students, and those where arts provision has been significantly scaled back. We will offer projects in songwriting, opera, gospel and musical theatre. These experiences will allow children of all backgrounds, but particularly those who are most under-served, to participate in and enjoy making music. We will then encourage these students to join other opportunities at the halls like our youth choir and annual community opera.