EDUCATION
IN ASSOCIATION WITH
SUTTON VALENCE PREP SCHOOL : THE BENEFITS OF MUSIC EDUCATION
OUTSTANDING MUSICAL ATTAINMENT IS ALWAYS AWE-INSPIRING , PARTICULARLY IN THE VERY YOUNG . WE ’ VE ALL SEEN YOUTUBE VIDEOS OF UNFEASIBLY SMALL CHILDREN PERFORMING WITH VIRTUOSITY ON ALL MANNER OF INSTRUMENTS . HOWEVER , MORE AWE-INSPIRING THAN THE INCREDIBLE MUSICAL ATTAINMENT OF MUSICALLY GIFTED CHILDREN , BUT MUCH LESS WELL-KNOWN , IS THE ENORMOUS BENEFITS THAT LEARNING MUSIC CAN HAVE FOR ALL CHILDREN , AND AT SUTTON VALENCE PREPARATORY SCHOOL , THIS IS KEY TO US .
We therefore do not take lightly our responsibility for providing a rounded musical education . Regardless of the individual level of attainment , learning to play a musical instrument or performing as part of a choir , orchestra or ensemble is a wonderfully rewarding experience and affords just the sort of opportunities for brain development that scientific research now acknowledges it provides . And there is no better way to motivate children to engage musically than to involve them in preparing to perform .
At Sutton Valence Preparatory School each child in the Prep participates termly to perform at least two choral items as part of a whole school concert . Over half of our children in Years 2-6 take individual music lessons across a range of disciplines from voice to viola . They are all encouraged to participate in ensembles at the earliest opportunity , as it is this group music making that is so beneficial for developing the skills that make children into rounded and efficient learners . There is a full range of school choirs , but in addition children as young as 5 or 6 can take part in the Ukulele Group or Mini-Musicians Club . For older children , as well as the orchestra , there are string , wind , guitar and rock groups , spanning the age range .
The Chamber Choir sang in front of a large public audience last summer at the Wealden Times Midsummer Fair and our Junior and Senior String Groups regularly compete in the Maidstone Music Festival . This opens their eyes to the achievements of other local children in the friendly environment of an adjudicated competition . In 2021 and 2022 the groups both won their classes , receiving very favourable comments and a distinction award from the highly regarded adjudicator .
The Chamber Choir has also benefited from a collaboration with the world-renowned VOCES8 , who have visited the school frequently and provided the opportunity to record at the VOCES8 Centre – a visually and acoustically stunning converted church in the near St Paul ' s Cathedral in London . The group also joined forces with other local school children last Christmas to record the Carol of the Bells en masse at nearby Benenden School . This joint UK / Ukraine enterprise saw the children ’ s voices being combined with an equivalent recording from a choir based in Kyiv and featured on BBC Breakfast as well as being released into the singles chart .
Back at school , music is not pursued in isolation . Under the umbrella of the performing arts the music , drama and art departments join forces regularly , to produce plays throughout all sections of the school from the
Christmas plays of our very youngest pupils right up to the Year 6 children ’ s leavers show . All children are offered the opportunity to prepare for LAMDA exams to further develop their performance skills and confidence in front of an audience . This all feeds into the school ’ s journey towards achieving Artsmark accredited status , a creative quality standard that recognises a commitment to arts and cultural education for children .
This is , of course , a valuable aspiration in its own right . However , celebrating our children ’ s achievements in the field of the performing arts is also to celebrate the development of their cognitive abilities and growth as learners in the round – ambitious , resilient and fully equipped to face the future .
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