The results are in, and we’re delighted for our sixth-form students for achieving a brilliant set of A-Level exam results. Many of them have places to study at top universities and music conservatories around the world: • 98% pass rate • Almost a third of all grades were A* or A • Over 80% of ..read more

Last month, we hosted an event to celebrate former pupil, Sarah Nicolls, who has won the prestigious Women in Innovation Award from Innovate UK, the UK’s innovation agency. We were delighted to unveil a purple plaque in her honour on the school site. Sarah often performs newly composed music and felt that the piano was the wrong shape. In new music, she was often asked to pluck a string or similar and she found it was hard to reach inside – and the audience couldn’t see this part of the performance. To overcome this problem, she built a vertical grand piano. Now she’s making it lightweight. Wa ..read more

We’ve received a glowing report from ISI (Independent School’s Inspectorate) following an inspection that took place earlier this year. Our School is the largest specialist music school in the UK and the only one in the North West of England. UK students are awarded places here based on musical ability and potential, not ability to pay, thanks to generous bursaries through the Government’s Music and Dance Scheme. The inspection team witnessed firsthand how teachers and tutors share their extensive knowledge and extraordinary experience with musically gifted young people. We are particularly pr ..read more

Chetham’s is a truly international community. Around 10% of our students have joined us from overseas, and over 40 different languages are spoken across our School. Each term, we celebrate this wonderful diversity with ‘International Students Week’ where we have food from different cultures, flags in the hall, and other activities. To mark International Students Week 24-29 June 2024, we spoke to year 13 vocal student Oleksii. Oleksii joined us from Ukraine and has found a second home in Manchester. You can also watch our interview with Ms Dackombe, our brilliant Maths teacher who organises the ..read more

Analytical thinking and creative thinking are considered the most important core skills by companies, according to the Future of Jobs Report 2023. Companies surveyed for the report also believe demand for creative thinking will grow by 73% in the next five years. “There’s more of a focus and an interest in having people with analytical thinking, people with creativity,” Saadia Zahidi, Managing Director of the World Economic Forum. All the students at our school are bonded by a love of music, which makes Chetham’s a truly unique place to be, but not everyone chooses to pursue a career in music ..read more

We’re delighted to have received funding from the ABO Trust’s Sirens programme to support the performance and promotion of music by historical women composers. Classical music has traditionally been dominated by men and we’re committed to addressing this imbalance by diversifying the repertoire of music we teach students. Thanks to the Sirens’ Women Writing Music fund, next year’s February Chetham’s Symphony Orchestra performance will feature six out of 11 works by female composers. Elizabeth Maconchy’s beautifully crafted Land is particularly inspiring for our young orchestra as Maconchy was ..read more

We’re so excited to launch a brand-new project called Make Some Noise in time for the school summer holidays, offering music workshops for children aged 11-15 from Manchester. The project is a partnership between us (Chetham’s School of Music), and Wood Street Mission, a charity helping children and families living on a low income in Manchester and Salford. Free workshops will include songwriting, beatboxing, singing, rock band, DJ-ing, and music journalism. They will take place in the world-class facilities of local music venue Stoller Hall, which is part of Chetham’s School of Music. Exper ..read more

On Friday we celebrate International Women’s Day and its theme for 2024, Invest in women: Accelerate progress. Classical music has traditionally been dominated by men and we’re committed to addressing this imbalance. Our year 13 student reporter, Macy Jagger, has written the below blog highlighting some of the female composers she loves most and has recommended a Spotify playlist of female classical composers for those exploring the genre, perhaps for the first time. “Friday 8 March is International Women’s Day. It’s a day to celebrate women in every corner of our lives, and as musicians ..read more

One question we get asked a lot is: what is it like to LIVE at school?! Nick Maynard is House Assistant and Deputy for Millgate House, one of our boarding houses, since 2021. We spoke to Nick about his unique job, what the challenges are as well as the best bits, and we asked him what his advice is for new students coming to board at school. What is regular working day like for you? Gosh – it’s full on! We wake the students at 7am – register at breakfast – dorm checks – post run – input registers – deal with requests and questions from academic and musical staff – more registers – follow up o ..read more

Some young people have found non-traditional routes into music as the pandemic continues to have an impact.    13-year-old Yasmin taught herself piano using an app during lockdown. Two years later, she has a place secured at Chetham’s where she is receiving the very best musical education.     Yasmin’s dad, Rob Fiddaman, said: “Yasmin was bored during lockdown and she started using an app called ‘Simply Piano’. I bought her a cheap piano off eBay and noticed she was learning pieces quickly.     “When the restrictions lifted, we got her some in-person piano lessons and after that, thanks to som ..read more