National Music in Transition Awards 2013 winners announced
Four primary-secondary music partnerships have won Music in Transition Awards, in recognition of their work with music to support pupils moving schools.
The overall winner, East Riding Schools’ Music Service, was presented with a cheque for £3000 by Christina Coker OBE at a special ceremony at Music Mark’s annual conference in Manchester on November 15.
The three runners up, who each received £1000 to spend on music making, were:
• Bishop Justus Church of England Secondary School, Bromley, Kent
• Dawling Learning Partnership, Telford, Shropshire
• North Downs Schools’ Partnership, Banstead, Surrey
The four prize winners overcame stiff competition from schools and music education hubs all over England by showing excellent collaborative working that is having a positive impact on young people, teachers, schools and communities.
Judges agreed that the four winners represented the most inspiring examples of “inclusive primary-secondary activities where music plays a strong role in supporting young people’s transition to secondary school”.
The winner, East Riding Schools’ Music Service: the Hornsea Transition Project, began with a cluster of primaries and one secondary school that soon developed cross-phase teaching and shared curriculum opportunities. A transition event was set up, in which primary and secondary pupils came together to share a variety of activities including poetry reading and singing, as well as a samba band. The Hornsea Transition programme model is now being rolled out to other clusters across the Service.
Musical Bridges Convener Adrian Chappell said the Awards demonstrate the importance of partnerships and joined up teaching and learning between Key Stages 2 and 3, to ensure children flourish in all areas when they move schools.
He said: “We would like to thank everyone who took the time to enter for an award. It has been exciting to see how much superb work is already taking place to support children’s musical progress. We believe that these awards, and Musical Bridges’ offer to schools and music education hubs, will ensure even more children benefit socially and academically from a smoother transition in the future.”
Six other entries made it to the final shortlist of ten, from which the four winners were chosen. All ten shortlisted entries will be showcased on the Musical Bridges website.
Musical Bridges: Transforming Transition is a PHF Education and Learning Special Initiative. The initiative began in 2010 and aims to help primary and secondary schools strengthen their students’ experience of school transfer in and through music.
Links:
Musical Bridges
Music Mark
