Music Education: State Schools

Lord Harries of Pentregarth Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Lords Chamber

[Lord Harries of Pentregarth (CB)]

My Lords, in stressing the importance of music education in schools and the lack of it at the moment, so ably emphasised by the noble Baronesses, Lady Keeley and Lady Debbonaire, I want to draw attention to the contribution the Church of England is making to the musical education of our young people.

Portsmouth Cathedral, for example, uses parish Choir Church projects and its Cathedral Sing project to widen participation in music education across the diocese, and working with more than 2,000 children a year. Sheffield Cathedral is teaching nearly 1,000 children each week. In some of its partner schools, over 100 languages are spoken, and it is prioritising the schools reflecting the greatest disadvantage. Liverpool Cathedral, in partnership with Liverpool John Moores University, is also deeply engaged with its local community. Sheffield, Portsmouth and Liverpool dioceses are examples of cathedrals where the choirs deliberately recruit from a wide range of schools, state and independent, urban and suburban, and actively seek both boys and girls.

Choirs with well-established heritage choir schools are also widening participation and supporting local schools with great success, and they are seeing increased diversity within their cathedral choirs. St Paul’s, for example, is working with 12 primary state schools across the diocese of London through its choral partnership programme, and it has seen multiple children from its partner schools join the cathedral choir on cathedral scholarships.

Choral music and singing are a fundamental part of the cultural heritage of the country. Cathedrals and churches, which are already playing their part in the musical education of young people, are very open to increasing their contribution in co-operation with state primary and secondary schools, and we hope the Government will be able to build on that.