Songstars (Sarah Rennix)
The Choral Foundation of the Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace recently launched ’Songstars’, a new singing programme that offers enhanced singing support to state primary school children in South West London. Sarah Rennix is the Programme Lead, supported by vocal specialist Laurel Neighbour.
In addition to weekly singing sessions covering the fundamentals of healthy singing and core musicianship, the programme involves both implicit and explicit CPD elements for teachers involved in the programme, to promote sustainability of high-quality singing leadership in local schools. In the current music education landscape, where equality of opportunity and resource remains inconsistent, the project aims to play a key role in supporting the aspirations and standards of schools based music-making in the local area.
The government’s recently published National Plan for Music Education (NPME) states that, ‘Music is an essential part of a broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils. It must not be the preserve of the privileged few.’ We could not agree more, which is why The Choral Foundation has decided to launch a programme that not only plays a key role in supporting the aspirations and standards of schools based music-making in the local area, but also aims to refresh public perceptions of the Chapel Royal as a truly inclusive and accessible space for all to experience and enjoy.
We are very grateful to have had this unique opportunity for our children and I know none of us will forget the experience. It has been wonderful for me to develop my teaching alongside Laurel and I will continue to develop this new learning into my future teaching
- Jasmine, Marlborough Primary