Photo: Supplied
A once failing primary school in a deprived area of West Yorkshire has shot into the top 10% performing schools in England, after rebuilding its curriculum around music.
Pupils at Feversham Primary in Bradford now have between 3 and 8 hours of music lessons a week, following the interactive and dynamic Hungarian Kodály method of teaching children music.
98% of its pupils speak English as a second language. The school's attributing a marked progress in Maths and English to Kodály.
Meanwhile here in New Zealand, mezzo soprano Anna Pierard is seeing the impact opera music can have on the lives of school children in the Hawkes Bay.
Inspired by Feversham's success story, Anna is supporting Mangateretere Maori Immersion school set up a Kodály programme at the start of next year.
Kathryn Ryan speaks to Anna Pierard and Music Coordinator at Feversham Jimmy Rotheram.
