An awesome string of prospectuses litters the coffee table. Each outdoes the next in its glossy depiction of eager children, avidly pursuing ever more exciting activities. Happy smiling faces stare out from every page. The bewildered prospective parent is left in no doubt that every school puts homely care at the top of its list of priorities. How to choose, that is the problem.

For no two families will priorities exactly coincide. Geography, convenience, finance, and sibling needs will all affect the issue. But let us assume that all other things are equal, that academic and sporting records are exemplary, accommodation and facilities are up to standard, teaching staffs are professional and caring, and any other factors measure up. What then should ultimately decide the discerning parent? I suggest it must be the Dream Factor. Can the preferred school inspire their child to become, in Arthur O’Shaughnessy’s words, a “dreamer of dreams”, who despite life’s vicissitudes may grow to be one of those who “are the movers and shakers of the world, it seems”?

Not so very long ago, such an idea would be unimaginable. Golden school careers were achieved almost solely by being good at being good at school. This required little more than a submissive conformity with the rules of the day. Work hard and play hard. Accept the dictates of a relatively narrow and inevitably academic (non-vocational) programme, show an enthusiastic proficiency at team sports, back the system – and success was assured.

Pupils who began to show signs of thinking for themselves were suspect and needed careful watching. Originality, creativity and independence of thought were not necessarily considered as virtues to be encouraged. The way ahead for the truly imaginative spirit was rough: recall how Benjamin Britten was disparagingly put down on his arrival at Gresham’s for presuming to be a composer; recall the difficulties experienced by the would-be poet, Robert Graves, faced by ‘the bloods’ at Charterhouse; and the agonies of John Betjeman, as he sought solace in the freedom of the Marlborough Downs to go and dream his dreams.

Happily and not before time, things have changed in independent schools. Artists, poets, musicians and actors are no longer the disreputable and effete bohemian exhibitionists of yesteryear. This has happened not just because of the move to coeducation in the independent sector, revealing that what was once deemed fit only for girls is now seen to be educationally no less fine for boys. It is also because even the most academic of senior schools has come to recognise the acceptable career possibilities that exist in the design studio, concert hall or theatrical stage. So candidates for admission from the preparatory school no longer need to rely solely on their proficiency in the dreaded formal academic transfer examination. They can happily submit their art portfolio, demonstrate their skill on the French horn and describe their experience in revue sketches, debating or drama improvisation.
 
A good CV has become highly advantageous. Hence the glittering photographs of all those impressive activities in that prospectus.

There is still a misguided parental view that the only work that really matters is that in the classroom and the only results that count are academic. Apart from the outside chance that a career beckons for the really talented and the very lucky or well- connected, the creative arts have a vital part to play in the balanced curriculum. Their intrinsic qualities in broadening the mind, heightening the spirit, stretching the imagination and developing essential ‘life skills’ must make them essential criteria in identifying a good preparatory school.

The role of the arts in school is not therefore essentially for training for a future profession but for a fulfilled way of life. Music should be seen as a source of joy and of deep personal satisfaction, a means of intense self-discipline and self-revelation. As Sir Simon Rattle recently stated, it is: “a fundamental need and not a luxury.” Drama likewise. Boys and girls should be advised to apply their theatrical ambitions not with a view to finding a place on the professional stage but to developing their abilities to communicate and present themselves confidently and effectively. Indeed, I regard acting, improvisation and just standing up before an audience and speaking with confidence and clarity as being among the most important skills schools have to teach. How many a timid wallflower has been transformed by the chance to act out a role on a school stage?

The gifted art teacher will claim that there is no such thing as a child without artistic talent. However ham-handed, colour blind, apparently unimaginative perhaps, every child can find some medium or other, in three dimensions if not two, with machines if not tools, in which to gain a true sense of self-satisfaction and achievement. Cultivating a fulfilled life, developing a successful career, enjoying a satisfying home, all benefit by the acquisition of good taste which arises from a training in aesthetic awareness, both tactile and visual. What a responsibility the art department has and shame to the school that fails to resource it properly.

Music, in one form or another, is no less ‘for everyone’. Apart from being almost uniquely a field where the child prodigy can outdo an adult, it is very special in being the best non-athletic team game there is! Learning to work in co-operation with others is very important and deeply satisfying, not least because it must be non-competitive. There are no winners and losers: all share a common achievement and sense of fulfilment.

But music must be made fun. And the early stages of study of an instrument can seem an all too lonely and nerve-wracking experience. So, the challenges to the school claiming to provide a good music programme are clear. In assessing just how effectively it does so, a perceptive parent will surely look closely at how well its music staff nurture and inspire the enthusiasm of the beginners, develop nature’s own instrument, the voice, and work at discovering just which instrument really suits the physique, temperament and aptitude of the individual child.

This points to another problem with preparatory school music: the orchestra. Unlike senior schools, most preparatory schools are generally too small to be able to assemble much more than ad hoc bands of assorted players. Their wide range of ability and experience means that novices are over-stretched while the best players are bored. The selection of music playable and the standard achievable under these circumstances will remain somewhat limited. This is where the IAPS Music Courses come in.

The IAPS Orchestra was inaugurated in 1972, with the enthusiastic backing of Benjamin Britten. The object was to gather the best players in preparatory schools for a weeklong residential course under top-flight professional conductors and coaches. Over the years, this initial experiment has developed into a major provision for orchestral and band players, as well as singers and jazz improvisors. Younger beginners are offered shorter courses too. So, for over a quarter of century now, IAPS Music Courses have pioneered orchestral experience for the very young. Another useful test of a preparatory school’s total understanding of its commitment to musical education is just how many of its players are encouraged to take part in music courses and play with ensembles outside the school. IAPS Music Courses are far from being the only ones available nowadays.

So, back to those glossy brochures and that agonising decision. Let the Dream Making activities be the ultimate yard-stick. Does the art teaching enable the children to use their eyes and imaginations? Is it inspirational, exciting, broad-based and capable of developing in the young a sense of beauty, shape, design and taste? Does the drama involve everyone, enabling the introvert and extrovert alike to rise out of themselves, equipping them to express themselves and communicate with confidence and charm? As for the music ... well, Shakespeare had harsh views on the “man that hath no music in himself ”.

In all, let the essential question be this. Is the school of your choice a Dream Machine?

Information about scholarships in art and music offered by senior schools to pupils at preparatory schools may be obtained from the General Secretary, IAPS, Waterloo Place, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire CV32 5LA.

Scholarships for music or art in preparatory schools, where offered, tend to be on an ad hoc basis, and parents will need to inquire directly to individual schools.

Voice trials take place each year for cathedral or university college choristerships. These usually bring a remission of fees and certainly offer exceptional opportunities for all-round musical education. Details can be obtained from:

The Choir Schools Association,
The Minster School,
Deangate,
York YO1 7JA.
Tel: 01904 624900
Email: info@choirschools.org.uk 
Website: www.choirschools.org.uk

Finally, details of IAPS Music Courses are available from:
The Administrator,
Richard Smyth,
9 Polden View,
Glastonbury,
Somerset BA6 8DZ
Tel: 01485 833837 
Email: richardsmyth@iaps.co.uk

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