Pupils are fighting to get to music lessons at an Aston School.

Kids at Grafton House Preparatory School have turned playing the humble recorder into a martial art.
Instead of standard grades, they are awarded coloured ribbons, or “Karate Belts” to tie on to their instruments when they reach a certain level of ability.

Each time a pupil achieves the next colour, their name tag is moved one stage up a giant picture of a recorder so that everyone can see what belt they have achieved.

Christine Caton-Greasley, (instrumental) music teacher at the Warrington Street School, said “Schools are being told they should give more importance to music, but a lot of schools don’t know what to do.

The idea has been met with a lot of enthusiasm from the kids. It really motivates them because they want to play and move onto the next ribbon.

We have a giant recorder with coloured holes matching the karate belts and pupils move their name tags up the recorder as they progress. It’s a good visual post to remind them everyday to practice. And it seems to have worked. I’ve never known the children to work so hard.

Original Article ... Opens in a New Window