Music Service to run as normal in school settings

Rehearsals and lessons take place in three different school sites across the island and involve more than 1,000 young musicians from different ages and schools.

Director of Education Nick Hynes said the service is being allowed to continue to run as it is part of the school curriculum, rather than an extra-curricular activity.

‘The Guernsey Music Service is part of the services we provide under the Committee for Education, Sport & Culture, it is not a separate organisation operating outside the States. The services it provides are part of the school curriculum,’ he said.

All of the spaces used by the service double up as education settings – the Grammar School & Sixth Form Centre, Les Ozouets Guernsey Institute campus and the Princess Royal centre for the Performing Arts.

‘It is part of the core educational provision that we are maintaining and will of course be delivered in line with the suite of enhanced measures we have put in place across all schools,’ said Mr Hynes.

All other community groups, including those that provide sporting and leisure activities, have been stopped from using school facilities and spaces until 23 January in order to limit the mixing of students and staff.

In an email sent to parents, it was said that mitigations in place will be similar to those before the holidays.

Over the Christmas period, positive case numbers rose above 1,000 for the first time, which have since more than doubled.

It was said that Music Service lessons ‘will continue as normal with staff visiting schools as usual and percussion and instrumental students visiting Les Ozouets following guidance on distancing, ventilation and face masks’ and that music ensembles will also be going ahead as normal.

At the same time, children are facing stricter measures in schools, with class bubbles being re-introduced, school trips put on hold and drop-off and pick-up times possibly to be staggered to reduce the number of people in a place at one time.