It takes a village

In the two years that it’s been going, the Almondsbury Singers have become big news in Almondsbury village, seven miles north of Bristol. As the word was spread from the hairdresser’s to the supermarket, the group gradually attracted not only parents and grandparents of pupils, but friends, family and school staff – including the Headteacher. Many of the singers hadn’t sung since their own school days. However, with its concerts and songs specially written for public events, the singing group has, literally, brought music to a whole community. 

Just as singing for pupils is about a lot more than the music (important as that is), so a community singing group has benefits that extend well beyond its rehearsals and performances.

“The group has added another dimension to the already strong community relations. It’s a sense of the fact that they belong to something, and they belong to the village of Almondsbury,” says singing leader Ceri Dash. “It’s a vehicle for coming together – suddenly you’ve got people who were living in the same road as each other who didn’t realise and they’ve met now. A lot of the parents, especially the older generation, love that. Grandparents love coming – it’s a highlight of their week.”

Open to all As you might expect, it’s democratic. There are no intimidating auditions – anyone who wants to can join – and members are encouraged to choose songs for the singers to try. In fact, it all started, says Ceri, with a suggestion from one of the parents at Almondsbury Primary School, where Ceri also leads music activities. “I remember sending a questionnaire out to parents about the new activities in school, and there were questions about, you know, what would you do next? There was a suggestion by one of the parents that they would love to have a ‘come-and-sing day’ where they would actually be able to sing with the children. They knew we had quite a strong tradition of singing in the school environment and they wanted to join in. And I thought, well that’s a good idea!”

Ceri advertised the 'come-and-sing day' in the school newsletter and got an enthusiastic 'yes' from parents and grandparents. Word of mouth did the rest. "I suppose, because it's quite a small village, people got talking about it, and it became not just parents, but friends and family, neighbours, people from church. It blossomed from there really." The adult group meets once a week in the evening, following the children's after-school rehearsals. But the two groups do not work in isolation, says Ceri. "The children learn their parts and the grown-ups learn theirs, then, before a performance, I try to get as many of the grown-ups as possible to come to the children's choir practice. Just so the kids get a sense of what it's going to sound like! And then we perform together. And that’s when it's all very magical - the grown-ups and the children just love singing with each other."

Better than Glee

For children, singing with adults demonstrates that choir doesn't have to be something you give up when you leave school - and perhaps shows a musical side to mum and dad that they haven't seen before. Past pupils, too, can join the Almondsbury Singers. For the post-Year 6s, says Ceri, it's great to have those links with their old school.

"They feel very grown-up because they're singing with the adults. And it's lovely because a lot of them have gone to different secondary schools, so it's a nice opportunity to keep in touch with each other."

Although there’s a strong singing tradition among Almondsbury's children anyway, the popularity of US TV show Glee - about a school singing club - has been instrumental in making singing seem 'cool' to teenagers, especially boys. "The teenagers say, 'Well, can we do so-and-so from Glee?' In fact, we did an arrangement of Lean on me - and one of the children said they'd heard it on Glee but our version was better!"

For Kathleen Still, Sing Up Area Leader for South Gloucestershire, Bath and North-east Somerset, the success of the Almondsbury Singers forms part of a wider vision to create a cluster of community 'singalongs'. These fit very well into the Sing Up ethos, says Kathleen.

"My premise for Sing Up is that it will not succeed unless you get teachers and staff involved who wouldn’t normally be regarded as musical. Many people don't sing because they've either been told they can't or it's just not something they do at home."

Starting a singalong

Kathleen sees the community singalong approach as a way of introducing the Sing Up resource to school staff, parents and connected community members in a way that doesn't involve any pressure, but is something they can have fun taking part in. And though 'not every school is lucky enough to have a Ceri Dash', anyone can use the Sing Up online material to start their own singalong, she says.

"You can play it and sing along with it without having to lead yourself, that's the important thing - and adults and children can have the opportunity to join in. It's something to bring people together in these times when people aren't doing that necessarily." 

So what next for the Almondsbury Singers? Surely a successful school choir AND community singing group is enough for one village? Well, no. According to Ceri, the next step is a community orchestra. She's sure there are plenty of flutes and cellos in parents' attics just waiting to be dusted off and played…

Ceri's reasons why a community singing group enhances school life

• It extends links with past pupils and forges new links within and between schools. In Almondsbury, Headteacher Paul Smith and other staff members sing in the choir, as well as school governors. Plus, teachers from other schools come along and then they try some of the songs we sing in their schools.
• It strengthens the bond between pupils, parents and teachers. The children can’t quite believe that their parents and grandparents make such a lovely sound and enjoy singing the same songs.
• It shows that music can be a part of your life forever, not just at school. It’s fantastic role-modelling for the children to see the grown-ups enjoying performing, and great advocacy for others to hear the singers, young to old, joining together. 
• It gives the school a presence in the wider community. Pupils and community members sing together at Christmas, at public events, and even to generate funds for community projects - in Almondsbury, for example, the Singers have raised money for a new church roof.
• It encourages more reluctant pupils to see singing as 'cool'. Boys, in particular, are impressed by the powerful sound their dads and other male voices in the choir can make.