The result

Sorry Earlgrey I am beginning to have serious doubts about this daughter you and Washerwoman both lay claim to. An unlikely pairing and doubtful daughter.

We all live in the real world, Annie.

Trisher.I have no idea why my last post came up under that name ??! Suffice to say I have lost heart for any discussion with you.You've succeeded with your mass of assumptions and trashing my daughters character.Not only does my DD not care about the kids she only cares about her own job.The head has from what I can gather a good relationship with all her staff and is very well liked.To suggest DD doesn't care is a low blow.But you seem to have your oppinion of her and our family whatever. And if she did lose her job she'd bounce .She is pragmatic,an optimist and one thing seeing her dad lose a business -through no faultvof his own -and face redundancy x2 has taught her is nothing in life is certainly. Or necessarily fair.have a good day.Washerwoman

Daphne, I live in the real world, I paid for my granddaughter to have music lessons, I paid for my daughters flute and cello. The latter on a widows pension the former on pension. I went without things . I didn't have holidays, eat out, bought clothes from charity shops, did some unpleasant jobs to earn money.

In the real world one accepts the state doesn't pay for everything and sacrifices have to be made. Never have been one to expect my income to equal a teacher or a nurse.

I have no doubt that the King's School in Peterborough will carry on with music, especially as it uses music scholarships as one of its backdoor selection methods. Tough luck on the pupils in the other Peterborough schools

I'm very happy with the school my children attended. It's one of the highest performing genuinely comprehensive schools in the country and has a very strong tradition in music, but that's under threat now.

My children never became professional musicians, but music gave them the opportunity to play in orchestras and bands and meet people. DD drags her keyboard and clarinet round with her and still plays them when she wants to relax, so has probably been beneficial to her wellbeing.

On social media

"The old can't moan about the result if they were too lazy to turn out for the vote"

. Love it

No, they don't all need music lessons, but they should have the choice.

Sorry ab. You're living in lalaland if you think a parent on JSA and child tax credits or a on a low income can afford music lessons.

Your grandchildren obviously didn't live in such households. When I was unemployed, I budgeted on £20 a week for food for three of us. It would have been lunacy to give up food for music lessons.

Very socialist, Annie.

But all children need free music lessons? I disagree , both my daughters wanted to play musical instruments so they did. My three grandchildren, one wanted to so she did.

Aren't they supposed to be working in the factories, trisher?
Pitmen painters?

There was a time when for many the arts and music provided a way out of poverty for members of the working class. Talent was spotted and encouraged in schools and led to children pursuing careers in the arts. No longer, the arts and music are no longer important. Of course we need scientists and mathematicians but we also need artists, actors and musicians and it isn't right that this area should be dependant on parents funding private teaching effectively preventing poor children from being involved.

Exactly, Welshwife.
My son might not have a degree in music now if he hadn't been able to borrow a clarinet from the school he was at when he was 11.
When we realised he was serious about music, we bought him his own. That meant the one he borrowed went back into the school stock, so someone else could borrow it.
Later on he borrowed a saxophone, until we bought him his own when he joined a youth jazz orchestra, run by his music teacher.

I would think that is a very good assessment suzied.

Most school staffrooms contain a wide spectrum of opinion, but the continuous cuts, freeze on salaries, changes of curriculum, school organisation, impossibility of hiring decent staff, all add up to many teachers looking for hope of improvement, both for themselves and their students. Not surprising many of them were enthusiastic about the Labour message. In our neck of the woods, a local high performing school is suggesting a 4 day week to cope with the squeeze on budgets and staff shortages. It also has abandoned music and drama A levels. Hard to see how voting Tory would improve this situation.

Peston just said it makes you wonder if there will be anything in the queen's speech.
She will probably be quite pleased, as she is getting on now. Probably can't cope with a long queen's speech.

Should have moved to Peterborough, daphne.
Actually, maybe not, as they had a Tory MP after we left - not our fault, honest.
Labour now after this election, thank goodness.
My granddaughters' music education was in Newcastle, solid Labour, no payments. But I don't think it matters whether they are/were solid Labour or not. It's whether the school thinks that music education will give it better kudos among the parents it wants, and whether it can justify the expense. Most schools can't now.

It strikes me dj that TM will have a very trimmed agenda in the low key Queen's Speech, and any damaging Bills that sneak through can be opposed in Lords (Salisbury Convention?) I've been a quick learner since joining LP last year . I too am pleased to see that the power and influence of the press has waned as more people get their info from social media. I think it is vicious the way that they have turned on May, as they did on Corbyn, although am no supporter of hers.

NoAnnie they won't all want to do the things you mention but Education is for preparing for a full life in and out of school/ work - so to be given the opportunity to dabble in many different things may well let them discover they actually enjoy a surprising thing they would never have tried out of school! Art in various forms apart from painting is also a not 'needed' skill which many people get great joy from dabbling in in their spare time and the love of it will have been born in school art lessons.

done

Daphne, I didn't mention school music tuition lessons .

Jen, is the problem not choice of food or a music lesson for all on low wages, it's children need iPads, iPhones etc. And yes only the more affluent can afford all this.

I doubt very much that the majority of children want to play a musical instrument, they don't want to spend an hour every night practising on the piano, flute, cello etc.

Not every child wants to join sports clubs, some children want to read for hours, some want to play football, some chat on their iPhones.

All children need to learn the three r's , not all need to play football, play the flute , join drama groups.

LSP can I just clarify. Your daughter is still in education (not a teacher) and she is loosing a half-days education every two weeks?

My explosion is on hold as my horror forbids me believing this is what the Tories have done sunk to - although I am sadly very aware it might be.

Please can someone explain to me how I was having a discussion withWasherwoman which now seems to have been hi-jacked by Earlgray? Who seems to have come down from his column in Newcastle to add his own comments. I know he was responsible for the Great Reform Act but we have moved on and he always was viewed as re-actionary. No surprise his daughter has right wing views. Perhaps some of the people who work with his daughter were voting Corbyn because their jobs were under threat, she of course 'has a close relationship with the head'

dj I always paid for my children's music lessons, probably because Essex is rock solid Tory and has never subsidised music lessons. Local authorities no longer have any choice. All of them will have to charge, because they don't have the funds to subsidise.

ab I beg to differ. School music tuition lessons currently cost £25+ an hour plus the cost of the instrument itself. How on earth does anybody on JSA and chid tax credits or low wages afford that? It was the first thing which went, when I lost my job.

Perhaps best not to mention them, LSP. I doubt she or her adviser are reading GN.