Can extra curricular music support young people's performance in school?
ArtsTrain delivers a range of curricular and extra curricular music programmes and we have recently observed a direct impact that extra curricular delivery can have young people's perfromance in school.
Maggie, 14 lives on an estate in Orpington. She attends school and is currently studying for her GCSE’s; English, Maths, E&R, Science, Dance and Music.
Maggie attends our community sessions at a local youth centre and over the last 2 years has now established herself as a confident female rapper. This case study explores her journey. She started her involvement with the ArtsTrain project in 2009 at the Duke Youth centre in St Mary’s Cray since then Maggie has attended numerous training programmes through the project and has recorded and performed her own original tracks in a range of local and high profile events.
Baseline Information
What are your musical interests? “I mostly listen to Hip Hop and R&B, stuff like that. When I’m bored I listen to Old Skool music, sometime Classical, depends how I feel.”
Why are you doing this project? “Mostly to boost up my confidence and I feel you can go along from doing this kind of project. I also want to prove to people that I have talent and show people that I want to do something about it. I’ve also been told that I can sing but I’m slowly building up my confidence with that one, by practicing harmonies a lot with the group and performing them too.”
What do you feel you can gain from this project? “I’m doing this project to help to gain some experience and to promote my skills. I do feel that I would like to work towards some kind of certificate as well maybe.”
First Impressions
What did you enjoy least? “At first I didn’t really enjoy the warm ups for singing but now I realise how important it is to do the exercise, especially when it comes to performing. Now I see the benefits.”
What has been a challenge? “I found writing lyrics a challenge at first. Now, I wondered what all the fuss was about, it’s easy and I love it. I also found harmonies difficult to remember but now I’m on it too.”
Half – Way Through
What has been different to what was expected? “I didn’t think we would do all that recording, like going to a real studio and working with professionals, it’s great. I am surprised but I actually love to perform, it makes you feel so good when I’ve finished a performance.”
Final Achievements
What have you achieved you are most surprise by? “Performing and writing lyrics, I would never have thought that I could sit down and write my own 16 bars, record them and then go onto performing them.”
What advice would you share with another young person? “Go and do projects like this because it really does help. Now I have stuff to do after school and in my spare time like performances and some of the stuff that I learned from ArtsTrain outside of school I brought into school and it boosted up my grade for music GCSE.”
Have other people commented on your achievements? “Yeah, last week when I was performing in Bromley Market Square I saw an old friend from my primary school who didn’t know I rapped, because when I was in my old school I was the shy one and kind of in my own shell and she was like ‘Is that You?’ and I said ‘Yeah that’s what I do nowadays,’ and she said ‘That’s really good!”
What Happens Next
Has this project change your training/career direction at all? “Yeah! I would have never thought that I could be good at music and writing bars. I want to go as far as it can take me.”
What one thing would you change to improve how young people are viewed? “I could change some of the words to my lyrics to send out a positive message. To show that young people can achieve and do positive thing instead of the stereotypical image of them hanging round street corners doing nothing. They can see that young people have something positive to add to society.”
Partner agency comments:
Maggie has been able to use some of the lyrics and skills she has learned through the community music programme in her music GCSE. Other faculty staff have also stated that they have seen a behavioural impact accross other areas of the curriculum.
"Maggie's attention in class has improved dramtically since attending the music sessions, she has a real passion for lyric writing and these new skills are reflected in her literacy and creative writing." (Form tutor and English Teacher)