The School Breathe Online Programme
The School Breathe online programme provides over 40 breathwork and mindfulness techniques, in video and audio format, to help children learn healthy effective and healthy ways to manage stress and anxiety. The programme includes a full variety of scientifically proven techniques, including breath count exercises for improved concentration, breathing meditations to encourage a calmer state of mind and breath-led techniques to manage emotions, along with audio visualisations to help develop confidence and help alleviate stress and anxiety. The School Breathe online programme can help both children and their teachers to feel more present and focused in the classroom, thus enhancing both the learning and teaching experience. Presented by one of our School Breathe experts, you will receive a different breath-focused exercise to practice each week throughout the school year, accompanied by printable tips and advice to help you integrate breathwork into your school day. Teacher training A full 1-day inset training day for your staff to experience the power and benefits of a full healthy breath. Teachers and teaching assistants will have the opportunity to learn breathing techniques to help manage their own stress levels, experience breath exercises to manage emotions and adopt a more mindful approach to their teaching day. You will learn quick and effective techniques to help calm your classroom and learn and practice techniques to help children pay attention, concentrate and co-operate. Teachers will be introduced to the comprehensive online programme and learn how this can be easily integrated into the classroom on a daily basis. About Us Passionate about sharing the benefits of conscious breathwork, we are a team of certified breath workers, meditation teachers, children’s yoga teachers, psychologists and empowerment coaches who believe children should learn and experience the life-enhancing effects of breathwork at school. We are committed to developing the highest quality training and creating effective and practical online programmes for pupils, parents, and teachers to enhance the lives of future generations. With the reported increase in stress levels amongst schools, the programme, can help children and teachers develop healthy habits to enable them to manage stress and anxiety and learn the invaluable lesson of learning to breathe well. Conscious breathwork has a plethora of benefits for physical, mental and emotional wellbeing, which can help children feel more relaxed, focused and happy.
Pupils Get Mental-Health Boost Thanks To New Wellbeing Workshops
SCHOOL-AGE children in England are benefiting from a mental-health boost thanks to a new initiate delivering confidence and wellbeing workshops into schools. Tackling the rise in anxiety across all ages, these workshops and courses teach children a range of strategies and skills to be more confident and resilient to new situations. Happy Confident Kids is offering schools across the country a specialised programme of play-based therapy workshops, designed to help children tackle emotional wellbeing issues such as anxiety and low self-esteem. Delivered by qualified practitioners, the workshops use a variety of neurolinguistic (word-association) exercises and games, to teach children confidence-building techniques that they can take away with them and use in the classroom and at home. Co-founders, Nikki Emerton (48) and Laura Dumbleton-Jones (38), said: “We noticed we were seeing more and more children and teenagers in our individual practices presenting with anxiety, low self-esteem and low confidence. This was preventing them from learning and limiting their ability to experience life, grow, learn, and be happy. Being mums ourselves, and drawing on our skills and personal experience, we got together and created Happy Confident Kids. The positive results we’ve seen so far have been amazing. The children who took part in a recent course all said they felt calmer and more confident, and nearly all said they felt better able to resolve their anxieties. We’re teaching children the life skills they need to be confident, resilient and self-reliant, and to be able to manage their own emotional state, all while making friends and having fun.” Recent NHS figures have shown a record 42% increase in cases of anxiety among school-age children in the last five years, prompting the government to address the way in which emotional self-care is taught in schools. Ofsted incorporated the impact that school life and the curriculum have on pupils’ mental health when it developed its new framework last year, and proposals are already in place to make mental health a compulsory part of the curriculum by September 2020. ***The workshops taught the children a variety of easy to use skills that enabled them to be more confident in their own abilities by learning strategies to manage anxieties and worries and feel more capable. This helped build their self-esteem with strategies to implement in any situation. The feedback we have had from the parents of these children has been very positive, and some of the techniques taught have been used in real life situations. Chafyn Grove School*** Nikki said: “Our aim is to help schools meet the new government directives and free up valuable time and money. Children who are able to manage their own emotional state are more open to learning, which in turn allows teaching staff to allocate their time more effectively. Our vision is to buck the current trend of anxiety and poor mental health in young people by intervening before these issues become a problem. We’d like to see a world where all children are able to fulfil their full potential.” Happy Confident Kids co-founders Nikki Emerton and Laura Dumbleton-Jones are experienced Master Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioners, clinical hypnotherapists, Life Coaches and Lightning Process® practitioners. Happy Confident Kids currently has practitioners based in Warwickshire, Wiltshire, Hampshire, North Dorset, Bath, South Gloucester, Co. Durham, London and Switzerland with plans to extend the programme both in the UK and abroad. To find out more, 0333 358 0390, email happyconfidentkids@gmail.com or see www.happyconfidentkids.org.uk for bookings and more information.
Temporary catering facilities and foodservice equipment
Mobile Kitchens Ltd specialises in the hire or sale of temporary catering facilities and foodservice equipment. Ideal for events or to provide temporary catering facilities during your kitchen refurbishment, our versatile units and equipment offer an efficient and economic solution to the caterers’ needs. Production Kitchens, Preparation Kitchens, Ware-washing Units, Dry Store Units, Cold Rooms and Restaurant Units are available as individual units in their own right or they can be linked together on site to form a complete complex. Alternatively, we can offer modular, open-plan facilities, usually for larger, longer-term hires. We offer a free design service, and project management from concept through to delivery and installation on site, plus full technical support throughout the hire period. The standard specification of our smallest Production Kitchen unit includes a six burner oven range, salamander grill, twin basket fryer, upright fridge, hot cupboard, single bowl sink unit with integral hand wash basin, plus ample power points to plug in Microwaves, Food Processors, Toasters etc. Internal equipment can be interchanged and clients can effectively specify their preferred layout. Some advice when considering temporary catering facilities Ideally the site must be accessible by road with any entrances and gateways no less than 3.5 metres in width. Space to manoeuvre a large Hi-ab truck needs to be considered and overhead cables/trees in the vicinity of the installation should be a minimum of 9 metres above ground to clear Hiab lifting gear. Ground should ideally be level and any soft areas made firm by means of purpose-built trackway to support the vehicle and cabin delivery. Linking of units to form a co-ordinated complex and weatherproof access to an existing building can be specified. All service connection points are provided on the exterior of each unit, and we can provide our own engineers to connect your services, if preferred. Power requirement for single units is from 63 Amps single phase, larger complexes may require a three phase supply. Water connection can be made to any potable source at mains pressure, such as a stand-pipe. We have many tried and tested design layouts and would be pleased to put forward our recommendations for your project. So if you’re planning a refurbishment or need to cater for an event then why not give us a call and we’ll be happy to provide advice and put forward a competitive proposal. For further information or to arrange a site visit, email: sales@mk-hire.co.uk or call us on 0345 812 0800, or visit our website: www.mk-hire.co.uk
My Magical Garden – Holistic Healing 4 Children
My Magical Garden is the basis of a technique that provides support and relief for children with anxiety, grief and challenging behaviour. It works in two ways; firstly, as a book on its own and secondly, as the basis for an Intervention Program and/or Guided Imagery Session As a book on its own, it helps to identify the emotional needs of a child and offers a fun, easy and non-invasive communication tool. The book is designed to help children understand and talk about their feelings. It guides the child through a series of choices allowing them to build a magical garden which empowers them to feel in control and to navigate through challenging situations. Additionally, the book provides an informative tool for parents or carers by offering them insights on how to help the child emotionally. Secondly My Magical Garden is a foundation for an Intervention Program, Workshop or Individual Session to be administered by a trained practitioner. During the session, the child is invited to create a safe place through the use of Imagination, Mindfulness and Guided Imagery. The children create an imaginary Magical Garden which provides an emotional safe place and once established they are provided with techniques that will help minimise anxiety, stress, pain or difficult feelings. The three main ingredients of the technique are: Imagination Imagination plays a number of important roles in mental health and can reduce anxiety and challenging emotions when used in a positive way. The imagination is very powerful. What a child thinks and imagines determines how they react to events in their lives. Since our brains can’t distinguish between real events and imagined ones it is a great tool to help promote relaxation and calm. Mindfulness Mindfulness is about being in the present moment. It is about taking notice of how you are feeling. Slowing down and focusing on the present in an easy and relaxed way. Mindfulness is becoming increasingly available in schools. Guided imagery It’s a relaxation technique that uses positive mental images to influence how you feel. It is a mind body intervention that involves the five senses. It can quickly calm the body and simultaneously relax the mind. In recent decades, there has been a rise in the scientific attention into the benefits of mindfulness. The number of randomized controlled trials involving mindfulness has jumped from one in1995?1997 to 11 from 2004?2006, to 216 from 2013?2015. A 2018 study conducted by Dr Joy Weydert into the benefits of Guided Imagery on children with Recurrent Abdominal Pain showed that a 67% reduction in pain was experienced during therapy. The trial concluded that the use of relaxation along with guided imagery is an effective and safe treatment for childhood Recurrent Abdominal Pain. Holmes Research in 2009, suggests that the use of positive imagination in our day to day life can reduce anxiety, increase positive affect, and be a buffer against depression My Magical Garden and its associated techniques provide benefits for the child, parents and the School. For the child, the garden reduces anxiety by providing a safe mental and emotional space. It will improve emotional wellbeing as the child will feel supported and this will increase their resilience and capacity to manage their emotions. Really importantly, it will provide the child with a means to communicate their feelings to parents and School staff, and therefore build a closer connection with their care provider. The benefits for the parents are similar, it gives them a way to support and understand their child and creates a stronger connection with the care provider. For the school this closer connection helps to give a better understanding for the child’s fears and anxieties leading to a calmer environment. The Magical Garden and associated techniques harness the child’s imagination in a positive and powerful way. It reduces the reliance on technology and screens to provide a distraction, but instead reconnects the child with their inner imagination, empowering them to learn how to help themselves. The book and techniques reduce the child’s sense of isolation by providing a fun communication tools to allow them to discuss their fears and concerns with their parents and the care providers. The Magical Garden provides a low cost, highly transportable and easy to learn technique to significantly reduce anxiety in a School setting. www.holistichealing4children.com
Schools and Academies Show – November 2019
Schools and Academies Show – 13th-14th November The education sector remains under pressure and faces both new and long-standing challenges. Funding remains tight, inspection frameworks are changing, rates of disadvantage and high needs are increasing, all of which places more work on teachers and school staff. But there is opportunity too, with more solutions, providers, talent and expertise within the sector than ever before. There is also a new Secretary of State, with a background as a Governor and a TA as a wife, promising extra money and support in the coming months. To address these challenges and make the most of the opportunities, the Schools and Academies Show returns to Birmingham’s NEC on 13th-14th November, with a renewed focus on the key things that are important to the sector. Funding and income generation; Wellbeing & mental health, for both learners and teachers; SEND and the Curriculum will be central to the agenda of sessions across the expanded two days. Supporting staff is more crucial than ever, with the extra burdens on their time and greater demands being made of many. To reflect this, we have several case studies on the subject, as well as bringing the Wellbeing Demo Area to Birmingham. This dedicated area on the exhibition floor will showcase a range of classes, mini-presentations, demonstrations and talks aimed at senior school and education leaders with the purpose of tackling the growing mental health crisis and wider pupil health issues within the education sector. Stonewall, Food for Life, and The Teen Yoga Foundation, among other organisations, will all provide practical, free workshops for staff on things that they can implement day today. With policymakers continuing to drive change across the sector, we are proud to host the Government Education Village, returning once more in partnership with the DfE and ESFA, which will include as a new offer for Birmingham, demo sessions running throughout both days. This means that you will be able to explore in detail specific policies and make the most of their expertise and advice, with representatives from Schools Resource Management, Academies Funding, Finance, Educate Against Hate and The Apprenticeship Service. Sharing best practice and innovation is important to you, as it is to us, so we have arranged case study seminars in the main agenda on topics such as Opportunity Areas, Private/Maintained School Partnerships, EdTech Implementation and many more. Minister for the School System, Lord Agnew, will be delivering a speech to open the Show and a representation of the political opposition with education spokespeople from Labour, the Lib Dems and the Green Party offering competing alternative futures for education on Day 2. The Business & Finance Theatre will be packed with offerings from the DfE and ESFA as well as specialist case studies in income generation and procurement advice. We have partnered with Nasen to bring you the biggest ever SEND Theatre, alongside talks from Dr Adam Boddison the government’s independent advisor and founder of research ED Tom Bennett. Panels will debate Ofsted, the future of work, the curriculum, technology in schools, optimum school resource management and the sad rise of youth violence. We have brought together Public Health England, the Chief Constable of West Midlands Police, a former young offender and parents to discuss this life-changing issue. New this year is the Charity Village. We recognise the huge contribution charities are making and the good work they are conducting within education. This interactive village of key organisations will provide the perfect opportunity for third sector organisations to showcase their work to you and foster collaboration between the two sectors. We will also offer new opportunities for networking. Key to this is our MAT Matchmaking Area, where roundtables comprised of MAT leaders will share their knowledge on specific issues, with each 45-minute session chaired by an expert. All MAT leaders and wider senior leadership teams that register for the Show will be offered the option to upgrade free of charge to a VIP ticket which will give them access. As ever, we are solutions-focussed, with expert providers such as Sage’s finance software, CENTURY Tech’s ground-breaking AI-powered tools which can improve student performance by 30% and cut teacher workload by 6 hours per week. For schools struggling with staffing, Randstad and Smile Education will be on hand with their specialised recruitment systems designed to give top-class support both inside and outside of the classroom. If your school is looking to expand, look no further than Maun Funding and Arcadis, experts in securing funding and delivering high-quality facilities. Classroom resources abound too, with such successes as Mighty Writer: a brand new, innovative and multisensory resource that transforms children’s literacy almost overnight. Join us for this and more at the Schools and Academies Show Birmingham on 13th-14th November at the NEC. Click here for full agenda and speakers list Click here for 5 brand new features onsite You can register for free to attend by clicking here
Shaping the next generation of software developers
There are over 300,000 software developers working in the UK alone, and according to The US Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that software developer jobs will increase by 30 percent between 2016 and 2026 as new technology emerges. Here at GitHub, we want to help teachers train the next generation of software developers. GitHub Education helps students, teachers, and schools access the tools and resources they need to learn all about software development. It is used by 1.6 million students and more than 27,000 teachers. For teachers, the GitHub Student Developer Pack is a way to encourage your students to learn with industry-standard tools, so they can shine on technical teams once they start their career. Introduced six years ago, the GitHub Student Developer Pack was built to provide students with the exact tools they needed to learn about software development. Since then, we’ve continued to listen to feedback from students and teachers around the world to make sure we’re bringing you the tools you want to enhance your training. The Pack provides students with the opportunity to develop their software portfolios, be it building a new desktop app, or creating an interactive map. This year, the pack includes over 50 of the best industry developer tools, which represent over £52,000 in the total value of services but at no cost to students. Resource and tools found in the Pack range from: AWS Educate, reliable, scalable, and inexpensive cloud computing services, free training, and collaboration resources Bootstrap Studio, desktop app for creating responsive websites using the Bootstrap framework Better Code Hub, an online source code analysis service So far, the program has provided over 1.5 million students around the world with the best real-world developer tools for free, and is promoting the importance of computer science to more students. It’s available for all verified students aged 13+, anywhere in the world where GitHub is available. They can join the Pack to receive GitHub Pro at no charge while in school and university, and receive exclusive offers from GitHub Education partners. The purpose is ultimately to show future software developers how we can use code to speak to machines, to each other, and help build the world around us. In addition to the Pack, GitHub Education is deepening its commitment to the education community through offerings such as new learning modules for the Campus Advisor Program to prepare teachers to teach with Git, GitHub, and other industry tools in their classroom. An example of how professors use GitHub Education comes from professors Keith O’Hara and Sven Anderson at Bard College, New York, USA. They wanted to make significant strides in the diversity of computing, and sought to do so by connecting computing to other disciplines, like art and biology. They ran a workshop using GitHub Education teaching students how to write algorithms to generate poetry, make a robot sing and dance, or create virtual fish for a group fish tank. These fun and engaging workshops are helping to change attitudes towards computer science, and other STEM subjects. If you’re looking for other inspiring coding projects to start with your pupils, check out the GitHub Student Gallery.
How a virtual learning environment can transform higher education
Greg Crichton, Head of Information Services at Oxford Brookes University, discusses the university’s IT strategy, and how its agile virtual learning environment continues to help it achieve its vision of transforming university life through the use of digital technologies. At Oxford Brookes University, our IT Strategy 2020 is well underway. The key outcome of this long-term strategy is to deliver and support a rich set of information technology services that are customer-focused, and contribute to our vision of transforming university life through the use of digital technologies and services. Providing information technology services that meet the needs of our students is a key objective for our IT Services. Their needs are diverse and they are generally very early adopters of new technologies, which create opportunities for the University’s IT landscape. In 2013, as part of this strategy, we started our partnership with CoSector – University of London, when we decided it was time to implement a new Virtual Learning Environment (VLE). Drive for change The first project I inherited when I moved to a new role in the University was to implement a new VLE. The drive for this change came from student and staff, who told us that the existing platform wasn’t flexible enough. This resonated with our IT colleagues as, from a technical viewpoint, its flat hierarchy didn’t allow us to create categories that could represent programmes. In order to align with the IT strategy, we wanted to offer a much more versatile approach, and at Oxford Brookes we strive for quality when selecting new digital services, specifically favouring ones that are future proof and can adapt to changing needs. Part of our strategy continues to be focused on the use of technology to enhance both the transactional elements of staff and student experiences and transformational learning, which underpins a commitment to providing an excellent online learning experience. In order to achieve this, it is vital that the university offers an attractive, digital learning experience that meets the needs and expectations of both our staff and students. Oxford Brookes decided to do some peer analysis and requirements gathering, to evaluate the services that other institutions were using. Once this process had been completed, Moodle, a widely used VLE, was seen as the right solution for us. CoSector was chosen as the service partner due to its knowledge of the sector, being an academic institution itself. Today, the University works with the CoSector Digital Learning team, which includes the hosting and technical support of the Moodle VLE platform, including Mahara (e-portfolio) integration. An ongoing partnership The original tender for the VLE implementation was very technical, and CoSector were initially required to only host the Moodle platform. However, since the partnership began, our relationship has evolved significantly and we’ve expanded the use of Moodle into other areas outside of online learning; including the integration of student management records and mobile apps. As a result, the Moodle platform has changed from a standard VLE, into one of the University’s most used digital services, and it has become thoroughly embedded into the University’s digital environment. And maintaining a 24/7 service is critical to teaching and learning at the University. CoSector provides ongoing technical support and advice for this, and both organisations have since embraced a service credit model, which provides a better understanding of how much capacity each side has, and allows for easier communication. This gives a level of independence to the University: for example, if a product requires changes within the Moodle platform, the University can quickly inform their Digital Learning team, and, as a result of opting into the tailored Service Level Agreement service, we can request the installation of third-party plugins as well as plugins developed onsite. This activity is based on an element of trust between both parties; speeding up the process and enabling a better workflow between the two organisations. Oxford Brookes has a vision to be at the forefront of digital transformation in the HE sector, and good working partnerships are fundamental to this vision succeeding. Bournemouth & Poole College select CoSector – University of London for its virtual learning environment Bournemouth & Poole College is home to 11,000+ students from across the region, the UK and the world. The institution is the largest provider of Further Education (FE) and Apprenticeships in the surrounding area. The college supports a range of values, among them a passion for learning and success, within a supportive and caring environment. In order to uphold these values, it is important that the college offers the best learning experience that is supportive to the needs of every student. Bournemouth & Poole College’s core focus is on developing the work skills of students to ensure that at the end of their study, they are well placed to start or to progress in their chosen career. The college has a strategic plan ‘The Bournemouth & Poole College strategy 2017-2020: Inspiring Excellence’ to ensure it meets this vision. The ambition is to be recognised for excellence and by 2020, the college will be outstanding with student achievement rates amongst the highest. To help achieve its mission, the college has a number of areas of focus including; offer flexibility in delivery, developing its curriculum to meet the skills needs of the local economy; value and empower its staff and unlock their potential and make the college an attractive place to work; and foster innovation and be prepared to take risks, whilst ensuring a high trust culture. To this end, the college needs to offer an attractive, learning proposition that will enhance and enrich the student experience. Challenge In 2012 the college was using a virtual learning environment (VLE) platform, however this solution provided a high renewal quote and did not support the Individual learning plan (ILP) that Bournemouth had in mind for its staff and students. They therefore sought a new VLE that would support the features it needed, as well as providing a modern looking front end, that staff and students could interact with quickly and efficiently,
Unravel – A holistic psychology service which supports pupils, school and families
Andrea Chatten is the Managing Director & Lead Children’s Emotional & Behavioural Psychologist at Unravel. She is also the author of The Blinks novels supporting children’s well-being. Here, she discusses the work that psychology service Unravel does with children, their teachers and their families… How long has Unravel been practising? Unravel – a Children’s Emotional & Behavioural Psychology Service was borne in September 2014 and was quickly embraced by schools and parents who were in desperate need for bespoke intervention during highly emotional and challenging times. I knew that there was a service missing in Sheffield and the UK in order to translate and transform the behaviours that children present and to help recognise the needs to help each young person develop positively. Working with ages 5-16 has given us a deep understanding of developmental psychology and the expertise to help children and their families when behaviours are becoming a problem. Unravel recently celebrated its 5th birthday. Over this period, we have grown into a team of 14 amazing staff who are passionate and committed to improving children’s emotional well-being. Who needs Unravel? Unravel is for any child, family or school whereby negative emotions are impacting on well-being and quality of life. Growing up is hard but unless we interrupt the emotional cycle, these issues gain momentum across the lifespan and transcend into cross-generational concerns. The issues children are presenting with now, are more apparent and due to increased awareness, and lack of available services, we are dutybound to help them and as soon as possible. At Unravel we work with the whole child and help them to name and claim emotions, interrupt negative thinking patterns, gain invaluable insight and learn essential strategies to drive positive change. We work with any emotional issue that are causing problems to self-esteem and positive childhood experiences. How do headteachers get in touch with Unravel? Visit our website and have a look in more detail about the impact we have and what others have said about us. We pride ourselves on adapting to every school’s individual need so can create and tailor packages to meet logistical and financial restraints. Once we have fully discussed the way we will work together, we can begin getting the practical things in place to ensure our time with the children and young people in your school runs as smoothly as possible. We will also provide an impact report at the end of each academic year or intervention which feeds into your evaluation of the service and into correlated data to provide to Ofsted. Can anyone access Unravel? We are moving slowly and steadily across the country. Although we are based in Sheffield, private clients have travelled from as far as Edinburgh and London to access our services. We have also worked with children and young people internationally via skype. We aim to have Unravel available to wherever needs us, so get in touch and we will see what we can do. Mental health is becoming more widely understood by pupils, parents and teachers – but is there still more to be done? We haven’t even started yet. Accessing services to support children’s emotional well-being shouldn’t take 18 months but it often does and that is being optimistic. We term this as societal child abuse. No child should feel distressed or suicidal for half an hour longer than they need too. We need to get to children whilst they are psychologically “ripe” in order to prevent greater problems arising on top of the original issues causing emotional imbalance. What could school leaders do to ensure the mental health and wellbeing of pupils is really a priority in school? School leaders know that mental health is a priority in school as it presents many challenges every day. The knock-on effect also impacts on staff well-being, learning outcomes, costly permanent exclusion penalties and ultimately exam results and future prospects. Often, the schools we work in not only feel a benefit because of the work we are doing with the children and young people, but they also are able to feel a sense of relief as someone is doing the work that they feel out of their depth with. Schools are educational organisations but the demands to become experts in such a complex and sensitive area often brings heightened stress and concern. Schools are in safe hands with Unravel we will take that burden and pressure of you. Could you give a short case study of a pupil, their school and family who have been helped by Unravel? I once worked with a Y9 pupil who tried to commit suicide in school. This person had over many years masked what he was really feeling and tried to be what he thought he should be. Luckily, I was able to work with him straight away. This young person was in severe emotional distress and had many undiagnosed conditions that complicated the situation further. We worked together every week, sometimes twice a week for just over two years. Over this time, he began developing possible psychosis and so I was able to contact CAMHS and explain what was happening and find out where he was in the referral system since his suicide attempt. He was still 6 months away from being seen but they understood my concern and fast-tracked him through. Sadly, this young person’s parents did not want to accept the reality of the issues and so avoided appointments and he was consequently struck off. The young person and I were on our own, but we just kept going. Over time, he learned many strategies, which he tells me he still uses today. We challenged bias thinking patterns, engaged in mindfulness, relaxation. Applied neuroscience to help him understand his brain which also gave him the “why’s” which he needed to stick at things on more difficult days. By the time he left in Y11, he received the most outstanding pupil award. This intervention cost the school just over £4000 over two
Investing in our future musicians
Through sponsorship and involvement in forward thinking programmes for young organists, we help to provide access to music and musical development to schools and ecclesiastic communities. We feel it is important to give young musicians as many opportunities as possible to practice on good quality instruments – to fully embrace the wonder that is organ music. We’ve had the privilege of working with some distinguished music schools like the dedicated team at The Guildhall School of Music and Drama where weinstalled a beautiful new digital organ for their 608-seat Concert Hall. We were also pleased to be chosen as their preferred organ supplier as they are the UK’s leading provider of specialist music training at the under-18 level with nearly 2,500 students in Junior Guildhall and the Centre for Young Musicians. For the Yarm School in North East England we were delighted to install a Regent Classic instrument in the school’s stunning Princess Alexandra Auditorium. We tailored the organ according to the school’s requirements and custom-built the Regent Classic in a Cavaille-Coll style console, which they were pleased to have, as this is found in only a few schools in the UK. Built to the same standards as a conventional pipe organ, but occupying just a fraction of the space, the instrument has 69 speaking stops across four manuals, which allows the accompaniment of any choral or orchestral work. Practice instruments are also an issue for some schools, so we were pleased to be able to provide Kings College Cambridge with an Envoy 23-s, one of our most popular instruments which not only has our phenomenal built-in sound platform ‘Physis’, but is also priced perfectly for schools. For many establishments with fine pipe organs -finding time to play on them is a constant challenge. And for organ scholars this becomes a real issue in getting enough practise time in. Our digital church organs not only provide the extra practice time, but can also be used with headphones to help with odd practice times (and not disturb resident scholars). Discover how we can work with your school to enhance your practice instruments and encourage a new generation of musicians. Contact David Mason, Managing Director of Viscount Classical Organs today on 01869 247 333, or on enquiries@viscountorgans.net. We also have a very active Facebook page which you can find at www.facebook.com/viscountorgans