Schools' Project
Our annual schools' project has been successfully running since 2006 and has seen children from Oxfordshire primary schools participating in a series of creative and singing workshops working with an inspirational workshop leader and professional musicians. Workshops are supplemented by inspiration visits to places such as the Ashmolean and Natural History Museusm and feature final performances at venues in Oxford.
Our project has recently been expanded so that we partner with a whole school over a longer period of time. We have been working with St Frideswide Primary School since September 2022 supporting and developing creative music making in the school through various activities.
Key Stage 2 classes have been involved in projects which saw them writing lyrics and composing their own songs. Both of these projects culminated in final performances alongside professional musicians at the Sheldonian Theatre in December 2022 and SJE Arts in December 2023. Elsewhere in the school, Key Stage 1 classes worked with the Oxford Song team during the Spring term of 2023 to write lyrics and compose the melody for a school song, which has been professionally recorded and is now used by the whole school. Our inspirational workshop leader, John Webb, also worked alongside Early Years classes and staff to lead music-making activities for the youngest children and to develop resources for future classes to use.
So far in 2024 we have revisited Early Years classes, looking at resources and further supporting teacher. We will be delivering a singing workshop for Key Stage 1 classes based on their Australia topic follow by a film music project with year 6 children to support their transition to secondary school.
Creativity is at the heart of everything we do, with children being encouraged to explore the relationship between words and music.
... it was amazing and fun ... that was the biggest clapping I ever heard! Everything was perfect, I really enjoyed it... Thank you for doing this with us"
Comments from School Children
If you are a primary school in Oxford and would like to register your interest in participating in future projects or would like more information about our work, please email kate@oxfordsong.org
Our Schools Programme is supported using public funding from the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and by the following charitable trusts and foundations:
The Ammco Charitable Trust
The Samuel Gardner Memorial Trust
New College, Oxford
Oxford Orpheus
The Sheldonian Theatre 350th Anniversary Community Engagement scheme
The John Thaw Foundation
I have sought out many arts and music opportunities for the children, as for many of them school is the only place in which they encounter such things. We have performed at the Royal Albert Hall and many other venues but I can truly say that this experience was the most enriching, inclusive, best organised and memorable of them all. After 30 years of teaching, it is particularly special for me that this project came towards the last few weeks of my teaching career.
Comments from Teachers