Episodes
| Title | First Broadcast | Repeated | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| Beyond Face Value | 20230314 | 20231015 (R4) 20231021 (R4) | What is music education for? Beyond the pursuit of a creative career, we visit providers across the UK who have recognized that music has a wider beneficial impact, and ask if it can be argued for as an end in itself. Feversham Primary Academy in Bradford has seen their pupils' behaviour and academic achievements skyrocket since they brought a holistic focus on music into their curriculum, taking them in 10 years from a school in special measures to being rated Outstanding by Ofsted. At Supajam, a college in Kent, centring the learning experience around live music and production skills has helped young people who have fallen out of mainstream education to gain key qualifications and transform their wellbeing. And in North Wales, we hear about the rollout of the nation's brand new Music Service, where every child is offered a free musical instrument. Soweto explores how creative skills are useful in all walks of life, and how we need to rethink the value of music beyond the surface. In a 3-part series, Soweto Kinch looks at music education across the UK and assesses how policy changes over the years are playing out. What impact is decades of underfunding going to have on our economy, culture, and children's development? How are new National Plans for Music announced last year going to address the situation across the UK? Reflecting on his own route to music, Soweto asks what music education could look like, and how much it matters if we don't get it right. Contributors include Nicola Benedetti, Anna Meredith, Nubya Garcia, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and a range of music professionals and providers across the UK. Produced by Megan Jones and Amelia Parker What does the crisis in music education today mean for musical life in the UK? In the second episode, Soweto looks at music's wider impact and how creative skills are useful in all walks of life. |
| Sounding The Future | 20230321 | 20231022 (R4) 20231028 (R4) | What could the future of music education in the UK look like? In the final part of the series Soweto Kinch looks at how to keep music education relevant to today's world and tomorrow's musicians. How are we going to ensure that systemic barriers to music are reduced? We visit Tomorrow's Warriors, a jazz scheme in London that has diversity at its core, and is building bridges with conservatoires and the industry. The charity Youth Music argues that the curriculum could better cater to the young people of today by reflecting their passions and making it more relevant to today's world. Ben Turner, a former classroom music teacher, tells us how his cohort of students completely changed his approach to education, and how a lunchtime Rap Club ended up forging a path for them into the industry. At DJ School UK in Leeds, we dig into the inclusivity of technology, and reconsider the way music is taught. Soweto asks how access to music and the way we teach it could change the cultural landscape of Britain. Soweto Kinch looks at music education across the UK and assesses how cutbacks and policy changes over the years are playing out. What impact is decades of underfunding going to have on our economy, culture, and children's development? How are new National Plans for Music announced last year going to address the situation across the UK? Reflecting on his own route to music, Soweto asks what music education could look like, and how much it matters if we don't get it right. Contributors include Nicola Benedetti, Anna Meredith, Nubya Garcia, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and a range of music professionals and providers across the UK. Produced by Megan Jones and Amelia Parker Photo: Tomorrow's Warriors (credit Graeme Miall) What does the crisis in music education today mean for musical life in the UK? |
| The Next Generation | 20230307 | 20231008 (R4) 20231014 (R4) | Where will the musicians of tomorrow come from? A generation ago, children had access to free instrumental tuition, but today it's mostly faded out, and in the past decade music has been de-prioritised in most state-sector schools in England. With inequality baked into the system, whether a child can access music education depends on which nation they're in, what kind of school they go to - and now more than ever, how affluent their parents are. The talent pipeline feeding conservatoires – though not the only route into a career – is under threat, with a dramatic decline in the number of pupils taking A level music: it could die out as a subject by 2033. Tracing that pipeline back to primary school, Soweto looks at what's driving this situation, and asks how much it matters. In a 3-part series, Soweto Kinch looks at music education across the UK and assesses how policy changes over the years are playing out. What impact is decades of underfunding going to have on our economy, culture, and children's development? How are new National Plans for Music announced last year going to address the situation across the UK? Reflecting on his own route to music, Soweto asks what music education could look like, and how much it matters if we don't get it right. Contributors include Nicola Benedetti, Anna Meredith, Nubya Garcia, Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason, Jamie Njoku-Goodwin and a range of music professionals and providers across the UK. Produced by Megan Jones and Amelia Parker Photo: The Benedetti Foundation (credit Sarah Pickering) What does the crisis in music education today mean for musical life in the UK? In a three-part series, Soweto Kinch looks at music education across the UK and assesses how its de-prioritisation over the years is playing out. |