The Yehudi Menuhin School case studies (1)

Impact of partnership work done in 2025 (ISC annual Census 2026)

• 10 state schools involved
• 201-500 state school pupils involved
• 125 staff hours given

Impact Statement

Community Concerts
Six or seven of our younger students performed on a variety of instruments in an interactive session led by a staff accompanist in primary schools across the county. These sessions reached approximately 800 young children. In addition to this, two concerts for a total of 300 Year 4-6 pupils were held in the Menuhin Hall by Menuhin School pupils.

Composition Project
An introductory lecture/workshop was held for as many students as local secondary schools wished to bring, followed by a clinic and then a recording session for 40 pupils drawn from those schools. In between the lecture, workshops and recording sessions, the schools were visited every fortnight by the Outreach Officer (who is a composer) to give one-to-one advice on techniques of composition and musical notation. The success of this initiative led to an increase in numbers as we had over 90 pupils coming to our introductory lecture in October and over 60 students taking part in the rest of the project.

Comment by a local infant school's Headteacher:

'They listened so well, came back to class and were able to name the students, the instrument they played and which performance they liked best. We have a violin tutor who comes into school once a week to work with some of our children. One of our girls said she had wanted to give up the violin because it was too hard and her mum had told her to keep practising as it will be worth it. She told her class teacher that after seeing your students she knew her mum was right and wanted to keep on playing.'

Comment by a local secondary school's Head of Creative Arts:

'Our A-level students have consistently benefited from the sustained support offered to us by the Yehudi Menuhin School over a number of years. Their lectures, recitals, visits and workshops have enabled our students to experience performance and composition at a level that would otherwise be unattainable to them. The effectiveness of the help and encouragement our young musicians receive from the school's students and staff is evident not only in improved coursework and consequently improved A-level grades, but moreover in the enthusiasm and pleasure in music-making that is ignited in our students after accessing such high-level support. In addition, we are grateful that Yehudi Menuhin School is proactive in offering exciting musical experiences beyond the curriculum by way of concerts and talks and in making us aware of those opportunities, which represent musical experiences to which our students may otherwise not have access.'