Outwood Academy Riverside is joining the Music in Secondary Schools Trust (MiSST) from September 2022, giving 180 year 7 students the opportunity to learn to play either the trumpet or clarinet.

Outwood Academy Riverside, located on Russell Street, opened in September 2020 and is the first free school within Outwood Grange Academies Trust.

Music already plays an important part in Outwood Academy Riverside’s curriculum and vision, with around 60% of all students receiving a range of instrumental lessons. With the opportunity to start offering the Andrew Lloyd Webber programme, Outwood Academy Riverside is looking forward to expanding the music department and the opportunities within it.

 Melissa Brant-Smith, Principal at Outwood Academy Riverside said of the new partnership:

“This is an amazing opportunity for our students to have experience learning and playing a classical instrument. Students will stand out from their peers by having additional talents and knowledge, enhancing their cultural capital and future opportunities. Not only this for our students, playing and listening to classical music has a calming effect, decreasing anxiety and improving focus”.

Some of the benefits of classical music include helping to decrease heart rate and anxiety, with a calming effect which can reduce nervousness. There is research which shows that listening to classical music while performing a task, helps to focus on the task at hand and can improve memory retention, this is known as The Mozart Effect.

MiSST currently works with more than 25 schools in the UK, providing regular classical instrument tuition and opportunities to perform to over 8,000 students.

Rachel Landon, CEO at MiSST added:

“MiSST are thrilled to have partnered with Outwood Academy Riverside. The school, like MiSST, are dedicated to bringing opportunities to children who may not have been able to afford this provision and understand the positive impact that a high-quality music programme can have on children and are committed to bringing this entitlement to them.

“The children will get a minimum of three years tuition and will be following our curriculum named The Andrew Lloyd Webber programme, which has already had a significant impact on the lives of so many children around the country.”