National Music Awards
This is their 5th national award in the last 5 consecutive years and its success is due to the extensive creative music-making support it provides in all Blackpool Schools. This includes the opportunity for pupils to play and sing with professional musicians from around the world. It has provided all 8 year olds with a new instrument upon which to lean new skills and, has enabled Blackpool pupils to perform on prestigious concert platforms in front of thousands of proud parents and the general public.
In it’s adjudication the national Music Council highlighted that there were ‘some remarkable statistics featured in this submission, such as 90 per cent of the total school population attending one or more of the 136 music workshops, and 96 per cent of the primary schools either having a choir, band, an orchestra or several pop groups; and most of them performing publicly as well as at school events. 76 per cent of the primary schools were involved in Wider Opportunities and 100 per cent had signed up for September 2008. The Music Service continued its active encouragement and support of music making in the three special schools. One particularly gratifying development was the increase in numbers of SEN staff wanting to develop their musical skills. Community cohesion is alive and well in Blackpool with numerous examples of adults of all ages getting involved in all aspects of music making’.