Restore The Music awards £240k in new funding round to 14 Schools in London, Newcastle, Manchester & Birmingham

Pupils from Eastlea Community School band The Hot Wires at Battle of the Bands 2024. (pic credit: Barney Curran)

(Wednesday 31 st July, 2024)

Respected grant giving music charity Restore The Music (RTM) announces its latest funding round, which sees the organisation starting to reverse the national decline of Music GCSE uptake, as it bridges the gap in music provision at some of the most underserved state schools in the UK.

In this new funding round, RTM has awarded an incredible £240,000 in grants to the music departments of 14 state schools in London, Newcastle, Manchester and Birmingham, reaching 11,000 pupils and enabling vital access to nearly 1,500 instruments and resources.

Since inception in 2013, RTM has awarded a staggering £2.6 million across nearly 150 state schools that have an average 50-60% of children on free school meals, providing over 30,000 musical instruments to 110,000 children aged 4-18.

RTM has a long-term vision to transform young lives, by unlocking potential in young people from the UK’s most deprived areas through the power of music. With grants of £10k being awarded to primary schools, and £20k to secondary schools, in London eight schools were identified by RTM as among some of the most underserved in the capital and awarded grants totalling £150k, and a total of £90k was awarded to six Northern schools in three keynorthern cities Birmingham, Manchester and Newcastle.

As well as increasing participation in music, RTM also aims to increase attendance and attainment. Recent impact reports across schools are showing hugely positive results and progress, which has led RTM to announce a groundbreaking, new research study ‘5 Year Case Study Spotlight’ at RTM Grantee schools, to show how music education drives attendance, participation and attainment.

For example, Harris Academy secondary schools are seeing an increased uptake in Music GCSE, counter to the otherwise declining national trend:

Diane Stirling, Senior Music Consultant, Harris Federation says: “Nationally there has been a decline of 12% of entries at GCSE/BTEC Music. At Harris we have seen a rise of just over 32% in numbers of entries, which is drastically bucking the trend.  I can say with absolute confidence a huge part of this has been RTM funding support.”

Rebecca Hickey, Secondary Director Harris Federation said “Restore the Music has injected a phenomenal level of investment to our music departments, resulting not only in state-of-the art equipment, but a significant lift in student engagement, enjoyment and success with music. Student enjoyment and success is vital to us; Restore the Music has supercharged this vision. We are immensely grateful!”

RTM has a distinctive funding model with individual philanthropists making up a large amount of its funding capital. The charity has raised £240k for this latest funding round with donations from RTM’s annual fundraising Gala, Sony Music Social Justice Fund, The Singer Family Charitable Foundation and The Rayne Trust.

Polly Stepan Moore, CEO and Co-Founder of Restore The Music, said: “I’m thrilled to share the results of this latest funding round, and the beginnings of impact of RTM grants an attendance, music participation and attainment in the schools we fund. With the announcement of our new research study ‘5 year Case Study Spotlight’, we look forward to sharing further evidence of the impact of RTM funding.

We are committed to increasing access to music in the areas of greatest need in the UK to redress the huge gaps created by the persistent cuts to music education. We believe that social change is possible by putting musical instruments in the hands of schoolchildren, unlocking potential and enriching the lives of those most in need through the transformative power of music.

Young musicians face more barriers to progression in the North of England, as demonstrated by Youth Music’s new report, so we remain passionately committed to supporting the Northern cities and targeting areas of highest deprivation in in Newcastle, Manchester and Birmingham.

Meanwhile, eight schools in the capital were identified, with music departments that were some of the hardest hit, and where receiving a grant will be pivotal.”

Alexis Ffrench, chart-topping Sony Classical pianist and composer and Restore The Music ambassador, said: “I am proud to work with an organisation that cares so much about making a difference to young lives by bringing music to children of all backgrounds in the areas of greatest need. With demands on school funds at an all-time high, it is truly inspiring that Restore The Music has raised £2.6 million and reached over 110,000 children so far. Having worked in music education for many years I know that for some children, music is the highlight of their lives, so I am delighted to continue this important work with Polly and Restore The Music.”

Matt Griffiths, CEO of Youth Music, said: “It’s great to see Restore the Music ploughing crucial funding into the North of England, as our new research – the Sound of the Next Generation report – shows young people from the region are feeling less supported and nurtured musically than ever. Let’s be clear, this is not due to a lack of musical and creative talent in the North. However, the grassroots organisations supporting these young people are having to focus on short-term survival, restricting their ability to plan for the longer-term. Which is why investment like this is so important.”

Charlotte Edgeworth, Sony Music UK Director of Diversity, Inclusion and Social Impact & Co-chair of Social Justice Fund, said: “Restore the Music continues to demonstrate fantastic impact on music provision in state schools across the UK, with another round of thoughtful and targetted funding. We remain hugely proud of this partnership, as RTM expand their reach across the country, ensuring that access to quality music education and instruments reach more young people in the areas of most need.”

Among the London schools is Harris Invictus Academy Croydon, principal Lisa Kattenhorn said: “The impact of Restore The Music funding is real and will be evidenced. Across the Academies, the quality of music provision will improve, the curriculum will be enhanced and at Harris Invictus specifically we will be able to provide an opportunity for students to demonstrate their creativity, reflecting their own youth culture. We know the Arts are being squeezed and budgets are tight, and our children in Croydon do not get access to the same facilities as others, but RTM’s funding will be crucial to making better music provision a reality for our children. Stormzy, who was himself once a Harris pupil, expressed it perfectly ‘Your circumstances don’t determine your potential.’”

Of the northern schools, Birmingham’s Ark Boulton Academy, in a city that continues to face huge arts budget cuts and cultural deprivation, benefited from £20k, Head of School Laurence Cole said “I was absolutely delighted to learn that our school has been selected to receive Restore the Music funding.

This funding will be transformational for our music department, enabling us to buy new instruments and a variety of equipment, to allow our pupils to practise as a band in a whole class setting, Key Stage 4 students to study for a Music qualification and even professionalise our school productions. We know the importance of the Arts and through this pivotal music provision and the excellence of our Creative Arts faculty, we want to see even more pupils pick an Arts subject for GCSE.”

Alexander Armstrong, actor, comedian, singer, Classic FM broadcaster and Restore The Music supporter, said: “This award of nearly quarter of a million pounds from Restore the Music directly into the music departments of schools across the country will kickstart a lifelong relationship with music for so many. This is truly wonderful news!”

The RTM Grantees include nine secondary schools: George Green’s School (Tower Hamlets, London), School 21 (Stratford, London), Harris Invictus Academy Croydon (London), Harris Academy Battersea (London), Ark All Saints Academy (Camberwell, London), Ark Burlington Danes Academy (London), Manchester Academy (Manchester), Bolden School (Newcastle) and Ark Boulton Academy (Birmingham) – each receive a £20,000 grant.

The six RTM Grantee primary schools include: Buxton School (Leytonstone, London), Ark Priory Primary Academy (Acton, London), School 21 (London), Four Dwellings Primary Academy (Birmingham), Manchester Communication Primary Academy (Manchester) and West Newcastle Academy (Newcastle) – each receive a £10,000 grant.