Town tunes up for music hub

WARRINGTON is taking the lead in a bid for £1.2 million funding to create a music education hub – a partnership dedicated to providing young people with opportunities to advance their musical education.
Town Hall bosses have agreed to seek the funding from the government in partnership with the neighbouring borough of Halton.
The creation of music hubs is central to the national plan for music education and if the bid is successful the funding would be provided over the next three years.
Various music organisations would also be involved and would plan and provide opportunities for 5-19 year-olds in the area, including learning to sing or play a musical instrument.
All the partners would share equipment, staff and training to provide learning opportunities at reduced cost.
Warrington and Halton both have a very good track record for music education and have delivered many successful events, including the massed choral events, Children of Halton Sing.
Warrington is well placed to bid for future funding as the Schools’ Arts and Culture Service was judged as “Outstanding” through the Federation of Music Services Moderation Programme last year.
Halton’s success was also validated last year.
Partnerships with local, regional and national music providers are strong and the service has been approached by outside providers wishing to be part of a potential Warrington and Halton Hub.
Cllr Colin Froggatt (pictured), Warrington’s executive member for children and young people’s services, said: “This is a very exciting time for our music services and securing funding for this joint initiative would mean that we can build on the success these services already enjoy and give our children and young people even more fantastic opportunities to learn music.”