Gareth Malone and Grenfell

Another ex SW here and I too felt great sadness for Adil who had been in so many different foster families. However despite having to leave he remains close to his previous foster family. I hope that continues.
In my day foster parents were either permanent or non permanent. The permanent carers committed care until the child was 16 /18 but were much paid less than the non permanent which was for 2 years only. Hence children were moved on frequently, to different areas, different schools, different families, different friends....No wonder so many looked after children struggle in later life.

I agree Eloethan to engage young people you have to work with what they currently enjoy. That can be developed and extended once they are involved.

I was amazed at how mature and articulate these young people were and as for the Head .... he had aspirations for his pupils but also was very aware of the practical and emotional difficulties that had to be considered. I was so moved by his tears at the performance by the girls. They were incredibly honest but at the same time very sensitive to the effect they might have on their audience.

As for Adil a very vulnerable young man indeed but his behaviours and his lack of confidence indicated a need for attention. Turning this around to positive instead of negative attention hopefully will help him so much. I was deeply moved again by his comment that he will make his own family one day but delighted for him that (I think) three of his carers came to the concert. That must have meant so much to him and shows that there must be a very lovable side to him.

I noted that there were still counsellors going into the school so I hope along with grannyactivist that the outcomes will be good. One of the girls said that she will remember the performance all her life and I think that will help to balance out the experience and memories of the fire which they will also never forget.

My feeling is that you initially have to engage people - particularly young people - using the sort of material that they presently enjoy - especially if you are trying to involve those who think choirs are a bit "cissy" or beyond their abilities or sphere of interests.

An established choir can then introduce a wider repertoires and new, and more musically challenging materials as confidence grows and new interests develop.

Given that much of the material was written by the young people themselves and, to some extent, the notes and rhythm, I thought the whole thing was very well executed. I didn't think it was at all patronising.

My feeling is that you initially have to engage people - particularly young people - using the sort of material that they presently enjoy - especially if you are trying to involve those who think choirs are a bit "cissy" or beyond their abilities or sphere of interests.

An established choir can then introduce a wider repertoires and new, and more musically challenging materials as confidence grows and new interests develop.

Given that much of the material was written by the young people themselves and, to some extent, the notes and rhythm, I thought the whole thing was very well executed. I didn't think it was at all patronising.

Last nigh was so moving. The three girls who wrote the scene Gareth was concerned about should be very proud of themselves. They will go far.

I do feel sorry for those children having to spend their schooldays in the shadow (literally) of the tower, no matter how much they wrap it up and put hearts on it. But they seemed alright with it.

I watched the first episode last night and found it moving, but worrying for the reasons already mentioned concerning vulnerable young people.

I was not concerned about the style of singing - it was a show and the style was appropriate to that. As a "performing arts academy" (what nonsense is that - all these silly labels for schools - they all follow the same curriculum) let us hope that a range of music styles come their way. But the size of the original choir for that large a school was sadly very small.

And I guess Gareth has to pick a style to match his ghastly hairdo! -

One of my life's aims has been to share the joy of singing with people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds and I applaud the efforts of anyone to further this, especially with young people.

I do agree that the HM seemed a sensitive man, dedicated to the well-being of the pupils and not afraid to speak his mind in their defence. I am sure he will be well aware of the let-down needed after such an exciting time. But there are children whose lives have been nothing but being let down and who have never known any sort of parental love and security - and for them the let down will be worse. Being in the media spotlight is very seductive.

It was the choice of the more vulnerable children to concentrate on that concerned me. They were led to believe they had real talent, which on the whole they did not - nice voices and personality, and delightful young people, but no special talent.

I too was impressed by the maturity of some of the children and also their ability to comfort each other and be sensitive to their friends' needs.

But I remain suspicious of TV spotlighting - it can be a double-edged sword.

I think the social problems of young people who have appeared on reality TV have been highlighted recently with contestants in their early 20s who have not been able to cope once the spotlight is off them, eg. Love Island contestants, and have killed themselves. I don't watch any reality TV but I think 2 of them have been in the News recently.

And there are others, like Katie Price and the dreadful Gemma Collins, who are only able to keep up that public spotlight by behaving like spoilt toddlers because they have no actual talent to offer.

It would be nice to hear that Gareth Malone further encouraged his choir youngsters to develop any musical talent .....

I share the concerns about the social situations highlighted in this programme, and about some of the children.

However, I have gone off Gareth Malone. When he started appearing on TV, he taught people to sing higher quality music with some style. He is a properly trained musician himself. He seems to have given in to popular culture in order to raise his profile, and the quality of what he does has plummeted.

Because children are disdavantaged doesn’t mean they aren’t capable of singing beyond the pop-based style he lets them get away with. Musical ability isn’t connected to social status. He could teach them so much more, expand their world so much more. I was looking forward to the programme, but I found it so patronising I switched off before the end.

I thought it was a lovely programme - and the musical that the young people produced, using their own words and ideas, was fantastic.

I do, though, share some of the concerns expressed here. I very much hope that young people, like Adil, have gained enough confidence to forge ahead with their lives. I do think that, having given these young people such a "high" - and especially the more vulnerable young people - they may feel very deflated now this wonderful experience has ended. I also wondered if it was a good idea to give so many very personal details about a young person's home situation. It seemed a bit intrusive to me.

Lucky I understand and initially shared your concerns, but I think I'm reassured by a number of things. Firstly, I felt confident that the headmaster seemed to be a very measured man who put his pupils' and school's needs first. The footage was edited, I thought, very carefully and placed individuals in a very positive light, and GM struck just the right note of encouragement rather than coercion. But what swung it for me was the maturity of the pupils and the articulate way they were able to express themselves. The choir seemed to be looking out for each other with supportive relationships being developed that can only bode well for the future.

I agree, as a fellow ex-SW, that it was disheartening to learn of the many foster care moves one of the young people had experienced, but it was known from the outset that GM was coming into the school for a time-limited period, so hopefully the young man's expectations of him were not unrealistic.

I usually have problems with reality TV involving children for all the reasons you outlined above, but I'm quite hopeful, in this instance, that the overall outcome will be good.

I guess I am asking whether the spotlight (which very clearly cannot be on them for ever) should have been on some of them at all. Some who are so vulnerable.

I will be interested to see how it strikes you merlot when you have had a chance to watch it.

I will watch it on 'catch up.' DH wanted to give it a miss because he's all 'choired out' with Gareth Malone. There have been so many of them.

I do hope they really benefited from the experience.

The spotlight can't be on them forever. But at school, with their teachers, and their friends, this will remain with them.

Fantastic programme. Fantastic experience for those kids. One they will never forget. Such a good performance too.

Loved seeing the bit of Hamilton too. Great that the cast helped out.

I watched it because running community choirs and singing projects has been a huge part of my life; and I think Gareth Malone has done some good things over the years to bring singing to those who thought it was not for them.

Do they have a duty of care? - they should have I think. But I wonder what happens in reality.

Do TV companies have a duty of care once the cameras have stopped rolling.

I've stopped watching this kind of reality TV as they bring out the cynic in me for the same reasons you have mentioned above.