Magazine Article - Sing Up - Let's get the whole place singing!

Are your students struggling to remember the names of Henry’s six wives? Are they mixing up the names of Greek and Roman gods? Do they know how mummies are made? An innovative project in Birmingham, run by Sing Up Flagship organisation the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO), recently helped 2,000 pupils and their teachers from 12 schools across the West Midlands and Staffordshire get their facts straight through singing. After all, it is easier to learn things when you sing them!

Making Music History

At its heart, the project aimed not only to encourage children to sing, but also to give teachers the confidence and resources to lead singing – all through specially commissioned History songs based on topics from the KS2 curriculum. At the very beginning, the CBSO contracted children’s songwriter and animateur Rebecca Lawrence to write a series of original songs and activities. Teaching staff then had the opportunity to suggest topics and themes to Rebecca, so that the songs were specifically tailored to the schools’ individual requirements. The themes ended up ranging from World War II and the evacuation to the Egyptians and their extraordinary pyramids. These varied themes resulted in a songbook called Past and Present – Songs of History and Humanity.

Once the songs were written in a range of styles from Tudor to tango, training workshops could begin with husband and wife team David and Rebecca Lawrence (both renowned figures within music education) leading the sessions alongside Julian Wilkins (conductor of the CBSO Youth Chorus and Boys’ Choir in partnership with Barclays Wealth). The workshops were designed to confront the fears many staff face in teaching music and leading singing in the classroom. They included fun ideas for warm-up techniques, classroom songs and musical activities, with a focus on using music in other areas of the curriculum.Staff even had the opportunity to write their own songs to use with the children.

Special resource packs were handed out at the sessions – containing the songs, a music score, word sheets, an accompanying CD and whiteboard-accessible electronic files. This meant that, back in the classroom, teaching staff could use them as crosscurricular resources. “The songs have been used as a basis for discussion and they’ll be used in coming years to help the children understand and remember historical facts. They’ve certainly helped already – particularly with Henry VIII’s six wives!” explained Peter Jones, Musical Coordinator at Woodgate Primary School in Bartley Green.

Having inspired staff with the benefits of mixing history and music, the project culminated in two performances, accompanied by the Berkley Salon Ensemble, at Symphony Hall in Birmingham. Elen Huws Elis, CBSO’s Chorus Manager, said, “The two concerts were the perfect climax to such a large-scale venture. The teachers valued the support and inspiration that was shared with them by our staff, and especially Rebecca’s amazing songs. I hope we’ve left each teacher feeling confident and able to continue working as a team, incorporating singing into their daily activities.”

Positive feedback

By all accounts, Elen should be delighted with the results. Feedback from the schools has been really positive. The experience has made singing a popular classroom activity at St Peter’s RC Primary School, also in Bartley Green. The school’s Music Coordinator, Rachel Murray, said, “Our whole school benefited. The children are more confident and motivated to sing. And the quality of their singing has improved tremendously … the staff, particularly the KS2 teachers, have grown in confidence. Our Year 5 teacher only said to me the other day, ‘I sing all the time with my class now!’. And, she was under-confident to sing with her class before.”

As well as being a great tool for learning, this project has made a real difference to children’s lives. Rachel explained, “A child in my class who has particular anger management and behavioural issues has been the success story. His love of singing has captured the hearts of all the staff. His behaviour has improved, and I believe this project played a part in helping him to enjoy school more and get something positive from it. He has now joined the school choir.”

Clare McNally, Headteacher at St Hubert’s Catholic Primary School in Oldbury, has also witnessed a notable difference. She explained, “[Our KS2
children have] learnt so many historical facts through the content
of the songs. They’ve helped to reinforce curriculum knowledge and the singing in our school has increased in quantity and quality … it’s cool to sing, even in Year 6.

“The ‘Past and Present’ project was one of the best things we’ve ever done and has increased enjoyment of singing among staff as well as pupils. The quality of singing has improved immensely as has the enjoyment of singing. Results have been among the best ever in school.”

Rebecca Lawrence’s song book, Past and Present – Songs of History and Humanity, is available in the
Sing Up online store or via email (rebeccalawrence@me.com). The full piano score of all 11 songs, professional backing CD, word sheets and teaching materials is priced at £27.

Song Bank

Run your own History Big Sing using songs from our online Song Bank. We’ve got songs that cover several topics, and here are just a few to get you started. You may also want to have a look at our musical, What a good idea!, which covers both History and Science and is about great inventions from the past.

Romans
- Here's to the Romans
- Roman rap

Egyptians
- Tutankhamun!
- Two piles of stones

Vikings
- Longship round
- Unst boat song (Starka virna)
- Viking rock

Victorians
- I do like to be beside the seaside
- Playtimes past!

World War II
- It’s a long way to Tipperary

Tudors

- Greensleeves
- Henry’s happy hour
- I had a little nut tree