Lead Schools for Music

10 schools in Hertfordshire have been selected to be Lead Schools for Music in the Hertfordshire Music Hub following a rigorous appointment process.

All of the education settings were praised by Hertfordshire Music Service who are leading the scheme as the Lead Organisation for the Hertfordshire Music Hub.

The new Lead Schools for Music were selected for their work in ensuring every child can make music, innovative teaching practices and promotion of music in the local community. Each Lead School also demonstrated a strong commitment to inclusion and accessible musical opportunities for all their pupils.

Cuffley School

At Cuffley School, we want our pupils to realise their musical potential by equipping them with the musical tools needed for a lifetime of music-making and enjoyment.

Our vision is to enable all of our children to learn to sing, play an instrument and create music together.

In line with the National Plan for Music Education, our approach to music includes three distinct, but interlinked areas of provision:

curricullum music
instrumental and vocal lessons, and ensembles
musical events and opportunities

Grace Hawksbee

I began teaching in Hertfordshire in September 2024 and at this point, took on the role of Music Co-ordinator at Cuffley school. My personal experience doesn't include playing a musical instrument but I do love to attend concerts and festivals across the country!

I am committed to cultivating a love of music across the county, empowering teachers to deliver inspiring lessons, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to explore their musical potential.

Haileybury Turnford School

Music is a very important part of our school, with a strong music curriculum. We offer a wide range of additional opportunities, including individual instrumental lessons for students, and a wide range of co-curricular opportunities. Student musicians perform at the beginning of assembly each day, which provides a wonderful performance opportunity for our musicians, and an excellent showcase for HT music. Our school choir regularly performs in our termly music concerts, and is singing as part of a mass choir in the Royal Albert Hall in March. We also teach music to children at Burleigh Primary School, Millbrook School and Brookland Junior School each week, and host an annual singing festival with our local primary schools.

We believe that music is as a pathway to increase student self-esteem, confidence and musical ability, and we use funding from the Pupil Premium budget to provide support for instrumental lessons for eligible students. We wish to be a vibrant community hub for music, and alongside our Gold Artsmark status, we strongly support creative and performing arts opportunities for our students.

Sally Nicholson

Sally is the Faculty Leader for Creative and Performing Arts and Subject Lead for Music at Haileybury Turnford. She completed an MA in Music Education, researching creativity in composing at KS3. Sally presented her MA research at the Music and Drama Expo 2024 and has presented the research at various other events. She is currently undertaking doctoral research with Birmingham City University and is furthering her research into creativity and composing with the focus now on KS4. As part of her wider role at Haileybury Turnford, Sally mentors ECT's across a variety of subjects and is an ECT Facilitator for Alban Teaching School Hub. Sally has completed the NPQSL qualification.

The Priory School

Lindsay Creak

After over 25 years of teaching experience as a Head of Music, I've worked with a range of students, a range of staff and a range of qualifications. I'm a real advocate for choral singing as it's free and can engage so many and as a result, we have around 10% of our 1200 singing weekly in one of our choirs. As well as being an accompanist and viola player, I am also heavily involved with Music vocational qualifications in the UK which I absolutely love being part of! To me, and my team, music is about being part of a team, a team who are the window to the school and beyond.

Richard Hale School

Music is for everyone, and we are committed to building a welcoming and inclusive music department where all students can feel comfortable exploring, learning, and developing their musical abilities. We want to break down any obstacles and celebrate the variety and diversity of musical talents our students bring.

Samantha Chadwick

Samantha Chadwick has been dedicated to music education for the past 16 years and currently heads the music department at Richard Hale. As a pianist and mezzo-soprano with a choral background, her teaching is enriched by practical experience. Sam specialises in composition and arrangement, informed by her studies in commercial composition and technology.

She strongly believes in making music accessible and engaging for all students, fostering a dynamic and supportive learning environment where every student can explore their musical potential.

Sound Mynds

At Sound Mynds we are in the business of harnessing music as a force for good. We have over 25 years of collective experience in the music industry this includes song writing, music production, DJ ing , Podcasting and many other areas of the industry.

Our well-equipped staff are young, vibrant and provide a platform for young people to learn and create in a safe productive environment, we strive to establish positive relationships during their time with us. We feel that all young people deserve the opportunity to learn / play or be involved with music in some capacity. This may turn out to be a hobby, a career or act as a form of therapy, regardless the opportunity must be given.

Ben Long

My name is Ben Long I am one of the directors at Sound Mynds alternative provision in Potters Bar. Before starting up Sound Mynds I was a DJ and music producer for 25 years and was involved in many other areas of the music industry including manufacturing , distribution and promotion. I feel adamantly that all young people deserve and will benefit from having access to learn and enjoy the different aspects of music and this can have a profound and positive effect on their development and general outlook on life.

Southfield School

Music is an essential tool in a Special Educational Needs (SEN) school because it provides an inclusive and engaging way to support students' emotional, social, and cognitive development. It provides an engaging way to support students' emotional, social, and cognitive development and can serve as a powerful form of self-expression, helping them communicate feelings and ideas that may be difficult to articulate through words.

At Southfield we believe that children should be given every opportunity to share who they are in a myriad of different ways. Music is key to helping them express how they are feeling and what they can do. Music is unique in that there are so many ways it can be approached and utilised.

Southfield uses music to bolster a robust academic timetable, give children respite, invite others to engage with our children, provide emotional and social development and also encourage a fun and creative approach to learning.

We want the community to be able to see us as a front runner for the development of educational practices. We want to support those who may be struggling with the increasing number of children with additional needs, offering advice, training and sharing the individual expertise of our passionate staff.

With local support we will be able to achieve so much more as we will have access to a bank of resources and knowledge.

We may be SEN but that does not disadvantage us in anyway. We are a strong community that, if given the chance, can grow and have a huge impact.

Southfield wants to be the school that sings, but they want to get the wider community singing too.

Rebecca Starling

Rebecca Starling is a Hertfordshire girl and she is very familiar with the Herts Music Service! She trained at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester and enjoyed working with outreach groups throughout her degrees. She worked in hospitals and with SEN charities, adding Music Therapy to her skill set. Rebecca trained as a solution focused therapist and used her past experiences to engage children and boost confidence – creating a safe space to express and confide. Rebecca took up her post at Southfield in September 2024 and was the Music Lead by October. She has thrown herself into her position as Music Lead and is a passionate and driven teacher that believes music is at the very heart of education.

St Albans Girls' School

Our supportive environment cultivates ambitious musical opportunities for all, in which we inspire young people who are self-confident to perform, creative composers and curious about a range of musical styles, instilling a life-long love of music.

Tor Cooper

Tor Cooper currently oversees the Music and Performing Arts department at St Albans Girls' School. With a Music degree from Nottingham University and teacher training completed in Bristol, Tor brings 18 years of experience teaching students from Year 7 through to A-level.

She has a strong interest in composition, having specialised in it during her own training, and is dedicated to enhancing student confidence in this area. Tor served as a subject tutor with Bristol University's PGCE program for many years and now provides subject-specific training at the Alban Teaching School Hub. An oboist with a love for orchestral music and conducting, she also co-directs a community choir, reflecting her enthusiasm for collaborative and community-oriented events.

Watford Grammar School for Boys

At the Watford Grammar School for Boys Music Department, we are committed to cultivating a lifelong love of music by nurturing excellence, endeavour and creativity. Rooted in our school’s core values, we empower students of all abilities to develop their well-rounded character and musical potential through outstanding classroom teaching, enriching co-curricular opportunities, and meaningful community engagement.

As champions of music education, we strive to inspire, connect, and lead within our school and across the wider region—ensuring every student has the opportunity to experience the transformative power of music.

Francis Mullaly

Having grown up in Belfast, Francis then graduated from Durham University (St. John's College) where he received Full Colours and the Durham Award. He is the current Director of Music at Watford Grammar School for Boys, situated in the specialist facilities of the award-winning Clarendon Muse, and oversees the South-West Hertfordshire Music Consortium whilst serving in the school’s Associate Leadership Team programme.

He was previously Director of Music at RGS High Wycombe where his department was nationally shortlisted for "Outstanding Music Department" in consecutive years at both the 2022 & 2023 Music & Drama Education Awards. Alongside this, the school was awarded the highest Platinum level by Artsmark in recognition of an "impressive and well-established reputation across arts and culture", demonstrating an exceptional quality of provision, pedagogy and impact.

Having completed the NPQ in Senior Leadership (NPQSL) at UCL, Francis continues to mentor many PGCE students and is a member of the national Music Teachers’ Association (MTA). In particular, his specialisms are in choral and orchestral conducting, directing Big Bands and musical theatre pit orchestras, having directed the Great Missenden Orchestra, High Wycombe Choral Society and Chiltern Music Academy ensembles.

Woolenwick Infant and Nursery School

‘Music for all’ is at the heart of every child’s educational journey through Woolenwick Infant & Nursery School.

Learning Music holds the key to giving our young children a better understanding of themselves and establishing a growth mindset.

We deliver the highest quality music education which is scaffolded on equity, enjoyment and inclusion.

We believe that, if you can foster a love of Music and The Arts and encourage every child to shine, the benefits to their outcomes will be profound.

Sarah Todd

Music Subject Leader, Woolenwick Infant & Nursery School, Stevenage, Herts

Sarah has worked with Woolenwick Infant & Nursery School in Stevenage for 10 years.

Passionately advocating for equity in young children's music education, Sarah created the Primary Music Strategy in 2023. A legacy project to boost the long-term development of young woodwind instrumentalists in Stevenage, the strategy spans both Woolenwick Infant and Junior schools. By this time next year, nearly 200 children under the age of 9 will be able to read music and play a single reed instrument.

Since joining Woolenwick Infants, Sarah has fundraised more than £10,000 towards enhancing the music department as well as for local and national charities. A Classically-trained musician as well as being a jazz saxophonist, Sarah is also a NUVO instruments global ambassador.

Wymondley JMI School

At Wymondley, we believe that music is an incredibly powerful form of communication that can shape the way we feel, think and act. Quality music teaching helps the body and the mind work together, and we believe that every child should have the opportunity to discover their musical potential.

We aim to nurture and encourage musical development across the school and provide a wide range of opportunities for our pupils to engage in different forms of music and musical expression.

Our vision is that all pupils receive a rich, high-quality musical curriculum that fosters a lifelong love of music.

Ally Chadwick

I am proud to be the Headteacher of Wymondley JMI School, a thriving and charming village primary school near Hitchin. At the school, I especially enjoy group instrumental teaching, leading ensembles and singing with the pupils of Wymondley, who are always in fine voice. My musical journey began with the gift of a recorder on my 5th birthday. I learned to play brass through tuition at my local brass band as a child - and I'm still playing with my local brass band today.