The recorder clubs were established well before I started teaching at Starks Field. Initially, the school paid the Enfield Music Service for a recorder tutor to lead Year 3 whole class tuition, and lunch-time clubs for Years 4 and 5. I have taken over the Year 3 whole class teaching, but we still have a tutor teach the lunch-time clubs.

Retention of record pupils is always a challenge, as many children don’t want to give up their lunch time to attend the recorder club. Therefore, I spend a lot of time reminding children to attend. We have never had a consistent cohort of children play the recorder in Year 6. Last year, no Year 6 children played the recorder, but this year we will have two very strong Year 6 children taking lessons. There is a core group of Year 5 children who have played the recorder since Year 3, and my goal is to encourage them to continue playing straight through the end of Year 6.

The level of attainment on the recorder is very, very high. I doubt that there are even a dozen schools in the country in which children play the recorder at such an advanced level across the entire school. From Year 3 through Year 6, the children have are beginning to play very advanced repertoire, and are learning new songs very quickly.

The use of music medal exams has helped to accelerate progress, as children see the exams as a clear progression route. The current Year 4 children will start working on the Bronze level music during the Autumn, and the Year 5 children will work on Silver and Gold level music. I never anticipated the Year 5 children to be able to achieve so highly, as the music is incredibly advanced for primary aged pupils. However, they have met every challenge that I have placed in front of them, and I am very excited to see how well they can perform in the future.