Teacher of Note with Lorna Lalji

Finish This… has been such a wonderful experience for both myself and my pupils. So much so, that it has now become a firm part of my curriculum planning.

Composition is often one of the least taught elements of music in schools, so it is great to have a prepared project that children cannot help but be inspired by.

What surprised me the most about this project was the engagement levels of all the pupils and their desire to ‘Finish This!’ The added dimension of their piece possibly being listened to by Omar, the incredible composer of ‘Blue, Red, Yellow’, as well as professionally animated, really made them focus on the task. We were actually visited by Ofsted during the project and they commented on the level of technical vocabulary that the children were using and their knowledge of Opera. One child even told them that when they grew up, they would like to be a Librettist!

The ‘wow’ element of the project for pupils is one of my favourite things about it. The children were thrilled to wear their ENO lanyards and to, ‘be working for the ENO!’ Having a specific design brief to focus on and a purpose, really helped to hone their compositional skills and it was fantastic to be able to perform them for the rest of the school at the end of the project.

Whether you are a specialist or non-specialist music teacher, this project is most definitely for you!

All of the lessons are planned out in a clear sequence and have links to supporting videos and other resources. Don’t feel obliged to stick to it though – I found it really helpful to use as a structure but then chose to adapt it to reflect the different needs of my classes. The flexibility and support for SEND pupils are both huge strengths of this amazing project.

Finish This...