PRIMARY EDUCATION: St Agnes Primary School Orchestra Project

St Agnes Primary School’s principal Sr Bernadette Sweeney (left), Lord Mayor of Dublin Paddy Bourke and music teacher Joanna Crooks. The school’s orchestra project won the Primary Education category.

Launched in September 2006, the St Agnes Primary School Orchestra Project provides each of the school’s 400 pupils with an opportunity to learn a musical instrument as part of his/her normal school life, within the school day.

Every student can learn the violin, with some learning viola, cello and double bass, while from second class on, all children in the school learn to read music. St Agnes’s orchestra was formed in March 2007 and rehearses weekly, with all the instruments and lessons provided for the students free of charge.

The project was designed to give students from poor backgrounds the opportunity to learn and play music, the benefits of which include increased self-esteem, better concentration and discipline, and the development of confidence in public performance.

The school is now a member of the Irish Association of Youth Orchestras, with three of the students having already auditioned successfully and gained places in Dublin Youth Orchestras (DYO). The school supports these students through the loan of instruments and the cost of the DYO’s annual subscription. The St Agnes Primary School Orchestra Project hopes to become a source of pride within the local community, while fostering a long-term interest in music for the young people introduced to musical performance through the scheme.

Highly commended in primary school category: St Clare’s Primary School