Spark Education Trust is systematically limiting students' access to music education, and we are seriously concerned.

Music is a huge part of school life at Egglescliffe- it's something which sets us apart, not only from schools in our local area, but nationally. Students in Years 7-13 benefit from working and learning together by making music in a variety of high-quality ensembles which rehearse every weekday. Our Senior Choir works with prestigious organisations such as Gabrieli Roar and Samling Academy, our Big Band plays challenging Jazz Repertoire and our Brass Band regularly performs with adult bands and in stand-alone concerts. Our recent sell-out musicals of Les Miserables and Grease have displayed the highest standard of youth theatre. This is more than just music-making: it's a community, a safe space where we can escape from constant academic pressure and create something meaningful with our peers. The ability for students from such a wide age range to support each other and build lasting friendships is not reflected in any other department in school- surely this deserves continued subsidisation?

To maintain this fantastic musical community, over 100 students received regular instrument/singing lessons last year. But this is changing. Last year, Egglescliffe was bought out by Spark Education Trust, who have quickly begun to make changes to how our school is run. This year, they have announced that the prices of music lessons at Egglescliffe will be rising by 42%, far above the rate of inflation. They will be reducing the length of beginner lessons from half an hour to 20 minutes and prices will increase as students progress to reach higher grades on their instruments - essentially penalising young people for having developed a musical talent. All primary school musical outreach from Egglescliffe has been cut off, removing the opportunity to extend the joy of music to the next generation. Moreover, these changes were announced without any parental consultation and without agreement from the school governors. 

A large number of parents have now raised concerns that they will struggle to afford music lessons for their child(ren) moving forward. Exceptional musicians are being priced out of their passion. Although parents of students who are already having lessons may feel forced to pay the new prices without complaint in fear of jeopardising their children's musical education, we are even more concerned that new students will not consider having music lessons at all. High prices and lack of primary school outreach and engagement will make it almost impossible for us to maintain our ensembles for younger students. If we can't prevent these changes, the next generation will never have the chance to experience the magic of our music-making community. Before long, Egglescliffe could become another school which only focuses on academics, following the national trend of forsaking the arts in the name of profit and exam results.

As students, we feel compelled to make our own voices heard on this matter. Decisions which affect students shouldn't just be made by CEOs and accountants in a conference room- students and teachers deserve to be consulted on what happens to their school culture. We hope that Spark Education Trust will take our concerns seriously and not continue with the lack of foresight that could wipe out our musical community forever.

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