Year 1: Lively crop of violinists.

King’s St Alban’s Pre-Prep department is alive with the sound of music on Wednesday mornings, as piano lessons, hymn practice and class music lessons fill the building with the sounds of singing and playing. By far the most exciting session of the morning, as far as Year 1 is concerned, is their weekly violin lesson with our resident Head of Strings, Mr Gunter.

The Violin Experience is an important part of our musical offering at King’s St Alban’s, allowing every child in Year 1 to spend a few weeks exploring the basics of violin playing before deciding whether they would like to take this a little further. The emphasis is on fun, with rhymes and games designed to engage the youngsters and fire their imaginations while, at the same time, reinforcing good posture and technique, which are critical to success in the long term. The children anticipate each session with great excitement and impatience and can’t wait to get started each week.

After the October half-term break, pupils wishing to continue playing the violin will be given the opportunity to take part in group sessions. These sessions may continue throughout the duration of Year 1 before pupils transition to individual violin lessons with one of the King’s School peripatetic teachers when they reach Year 2. Historically, numbers continuing into Year 2 and beyond have been extremely encouraging. A current Year 2 pupil, having completed the Year 1 course last year and now enjoying individual lessons commented, “I loved playing the violin with my friends in Year 1 but I also love having lessons with my new teacher this year; it really is lots of fun!”

With such a lively crop of violinists developing, it is clear that the future of string playing at King’s is in safe hands.