Twyford CE High School is a model school for music. Praised as an outstanding school by Ofsted in 2007, Twyford has music specialist status and a huge range of melodious goings-on, with its own musician in residence and numerous active ensembles including a gospel choir who won this year's BBC Songs of Praise Senior School Choir of the Year award.
Earlier this month the school was the setting for the launch of the national Year of Music, Tune In, with Ed Balls and musicians VV Brown and Jamie Cullum treating the students to a music lesson. But visitors were as impressed by the students (who sang, beatboxed and played piano) and the facilities at Twyford as they were by the assembled celebs.
Assistant Head Phil Bennett is one of four music teachers at the school, and explains that the school's music department has grown rapidly. "I arrived four years ago when there were two music staff, which turned into three, and now we're a music college, with a head of music staff and a head of music college," he says. "It's really grown because of the push from the top from the headteacher who is really passionate about music."
The school is running the new 14-19 Creative and Media diploma and has developed a new creative and media classroom, as well as a recording studio and its own radio station, but Phil insists that success isn't to do with fancy facilities, it's about passion and enthusiasm.
"It all depends on how inspirational the teachers are," he says. "It all happens in the classroom."
"If you're passionate about music, you can inspire students, with whatever instruments you've got. Sometimes we just start with percussion; sometimes we just go back to our voices. The Year 7s get excited about singing in groups, to simple backing tracks or drum beats.
"We've now got a small boys choir, a junior choir, a chamber choir and a gospel choir. The students realise music is cool and singing is cool and performing is good, they want to do that with their friends."
With Year 9 students, the school has been experimenting with Musical Futures. "I think that's one of the greatest ways forward," says head of music Angela Bryant. "It's self-motivating, they manage their own groups, they're much more engaged."
There is a huge sense of pride in the school's musical achievements and a range of good role models promoting music, from older students to visiting musicians. Because music is valued in the school, the students respond with the discipline it deserves, says Angela. "They might be very excitable out in the playground, but when they come inside there's a sense that there's a discipline and focus and importance to it."
There's also a knock-on effect to other subjects, specifically via the Learning to Perform initiative. "We say that the skills you learn as a performer, you can put into the classroom and your wider learning," says deputy head Keir Smith. "What we're passionate about is how to use music as a metaphor for learning. The skills you develop as a musician and as a performer are the skills you then use in your maths and your English. We use performance to raise self-esteem."
So how can other schools achieve results and a musical culture like Twyford? And what can the sector, the Music Manifesto and the government do to help them?
"It's great that we've got the Music Manifesto," says Angela, but she is keen to see the kind of developments we've had in primary music (Sing Up, Wider Opps) translated for secondaries.
Angela suggests there should be as many opportunities as possible for children to learn a musical instrument, although she recognises that "the financial implications of that are huge". "Coming from Wider Opps, where they've had it for free, where does that go next?" she asks. Without support for more disadvantaged children to follow through with their lessons, instrumental learning will "remain elitist", excluding those whose parents can't afford to buy instruments
Schools also need sufficient break-out spaces for students to practice or get together and play, she says, especially if they are to take on the Musical Futures model.
One primary project that is having a huge impact is Sing Up, and Angela would like to see a progression of Sing Up, or something like it, into secondary. "Really pushing the idea of using the human voice as an instrument, getting as many professional artists and visitors into schools, as many inspirational role models, from all sorts of different backgrounds.
"I know it involves a huge amount of funding, but the more students interact with the real thing [ie. professional musicians], the better. The same with instrumental teachers, so that they're not just visitors who come in for a couple of hours but can be funded to interact more in the classroom."
This feature was originally published by Music Manifesto, the campaign to improve music education 2004 – 2010.
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