On Wednesday 18 January, we welcomed 12 children from Grange Academy to Bedford School for a singing and percussion workshop in our Music School Recital Hall. The session was organised by Lower Sixth Formers Thimon Wendelen and Luke Langridge, who have been volunteering at the local special needs school since the beginning of term as part of their International Baccalaureate (IB) studies.
The CAS (Creativity, Activity, Service) element is one of three essential parts of the IB Diploma programme, and Thimon and Luke chose to fulfil their ‘service’ strand by spending Wednesday afternoons at Grange Academy, where they have been assisting in classes on a rotational basis. Grange Academy provides specialist education for pupils aged between seven and 16 years old who have a diverse range of special educational needs.
To date, Thimon has been based in secondary age classes, whereas Luke has worked with primary school children.
Both Thimon and Luke spend time each week talking to the children and supporting the teachers in the classrooms they are allocated to. Thimon speaks enthusiastically about the time he has spent there so far, saying, “The Grange Academy staff have been incredibly welcoming and have shared their experiences with us. It is great to be able to offer our help and support. I even have a mentee who talks to me about how school is going for him, giving him a bit of stability. It is great to be so appreciated”.
Lower Sixth Formers, Thimon Wendelen and Luke Langridge
Thimon and Luke organised the singing and percussion workshop together with input from Mr Dominic Childs, Head of Woodwind and Brass, when deciding on content. Mr Childs was there with his saxophone on the day, along with Mr Bantock on electric guitar, Mrs Bantock on the keyboards and Upper Sixth Former Joshua Jeganathan on the drum kit, and Director of IB Mr Adrian Finch became the Musical Director for the session! The focus of the afternoon was to learn a song from the musical Bugsy Malone, which the children managed brilliantly. Mr Finch helped them with the pitch and rhythms, with the words on a big screen behind him. They enjoyed watching a clip of the song being performed last term on the Quarry Theatre stage by the cast of our boys and girls from Bedford Girls’ School last term. The children then chose from a large selection of percussion instruments and tried their hands at some rhythms, playing them to the same tune, again accompanied by our music department staff.
Grange Academy’s Deputy Head Angela Morris explained that the group of Year 10 and 11 children attending were from their Nurture Group, formed of a select group of children at the school who benefit from a quieter and calmer learning environment. She was delighted at how engaged the children were throughout the afternoon. They clearly enjoyed the session; there were lots of smiles and applause at their achievements. As Mr Finch said, “Music is about enjoying it, feeling it, breathing it.”.