GENEROUS Woking residents have donated musical instruments to The Winston Churchill School, allowing about 30 Year 7 students to take free music lessons.

The donations are part of a new scheme in which students were invited to sign up for free music lessons on an instrument of their choice.

“It was giving them the opportunity to try something they hadn’t necessarily done before,” said Claire Laurent, a music teacher, who is leading the scheme. 

“We did a social media advert asking if anybody had any instruments they would be able to donate.

“We were overwhelmed by the generosity of the local community, who donated flutes, clarinets, cellos, violins, saxophones, recorders, trumpets, guitars and even drum kits.

“This community support has been invaluable in helping the music department to return to widespread music-making after the disruption of the pandemic,” Claire added.

“The department was also very fortunate to have received an award from the Wellington College Arts Fund, which covered the cost of the lessons.

“We’ve got a school orchestra, a big band, session bands, several choirs and instrumental groups.

“The ambition is for the students who are learning to play instruments for the first time to feed into the various ensembles we provide at school.

“The music staff hope that this is just the beginning of the scheme, and that year on year, more and more students will decide to take up a musical instrument to enrich their time at school,” Claire said.