Boris Johnson today pledged to boost music in London schools, saying the subject is vital for the economy and can teach children to “turn the mundane into the beautiful”.
The Mayor announced he will form a team of professional musicians and expert headteachers to advise schools about teaching music well.
He also pledged to create a new award for schools that show an outstanding commitment to music, to be presented at next year’s London Music Awards. Mr Johnson said: “London needs creative people and music is one of our most successful exports. The creative industries generate £21 billion for London’s economy each year.
“But music also has a bigger purpose, personally and socially. It’s unique in challenging human beings to draw upon a huge range of intellectual skills and use them, in that moment, to turn the mundane into the beautiful — to create emotion.”
Mr Johnson made his pledge today at an education conference at City Hall.
Darren Henley, chair of the Mayor’s Music Education Taskforce, said: “Music can be a tough subject for heads and senior leaders to get to grips with.
“We want to help everyone recognise exactly what a good music lesson looks like and know whether children are making progress.”
He added: “We live in a city awash with amazing musicians, music organisations and musical heritage. It’s essential that all schools know what is on offer and how to access it.”
The Mayor’s annual education report was also published at the conference.
It said that London’s school place crisis is set to get worse due to the growing population, warning: “Our projections over the next decade show that, by 2022 the primary school-aged population will have increased by 94,000 children.”
It added: “Just as important is making sure the places offered are good. Even in areas where there may be a surplus of places, some London parents feel they don’t have a genuine choice.”
The report called for more information and advice for parents trying to find school places, and said it is vital that London receives extra funding to cope with the growing population.
London Councils, which represents local authorities in London, estimates 133,000 additional school places will be required by 2018.
