School charges kids £5 a week to study music
mainIn what appears to be a rogue precedent, Bingley Grammar School in Yorkshire is charging students £5 a week to study music to GCSE level.
The school says 25 kids have signed up despite the fee.
The Incorporated Society of Musicians calls the move ‘shocking and deeply troubling’.
Read on here.
I grew up in the UK, but live in the US, in which many school districts have dropped music education from the curriculum. I have two (I hope, frank) questions about this case:
1) If Bingley Grammar School had determined to drop music education altogether, is it at least a little better that they are still offering it- sort of?
2) If this is a matter of some (few) thousands of pounds per week, is there an opportunity for private philanthropy to bridge the gap?
I don’t ask these questions because I think state schools should not offer music or other arts education as part of their curriculum, but given–as I understand it–schools have little control over their revenue, is it a shame on the single school- or the government, or LEAs, or whichever body decides what to prioritize?
Wait… “Despite” the fee? Kidding, right? This has got to be class, not private lessons, I’m hoping? That’s $6.77 in $US.