Should we start a campaign to bring back singing in school assemblies?

[PaulaYatesBiggestFan]

I LOVE hymn singing and find it very uplifting on the rare occasions i get to do it!

Would it benefit children to bring it back...?

following on from 'The Choir' i feel inspired

Teachers is this possible or just not worth thinking about?

my kids (state) primary sing hymns in assembly....

We have hymn singing at our assemblies

We used to sing old pop songs in primary school assembley . No hymns in secondary school....

my secondary children do not sing- the primary ones rarely

I wouldn't care (too) much what they sang (as long as it wasn't gangsta rap - a particular haet of mine)

I love singing - I am virtually tone deaf - but they let me sing at church

I know what you mean, PYBF, but I also remember at school (many moons ago) all the Sikhs, Hindus, Muslims and people of other religions trooping off to sit in a classrooom while the rest of us (the vast majority in my case) trooped in to sing All Things Bright and Beautiful. So not quite black and white I guess.

But I had a depressing conversation with my 14 year old niece at Christmas, who told me that they never do ANY singing in school, and that even in music lessons nobody will sing because they're all so teenage and don't want to be seen to be the ones doing the singing. And she also admitted that she'd like nothing better than a good old sing.

it sounds so love;y when teenagers sing and so uplifting

I know, I used to love it at school and I'm sure it must be good for the health too - opens up the lungs and all that.

Oh, thank goodness, i thought for a moment that no child was singing in assembly anymore.
I loved singing in assembly. It was joyous oise-making condoned. We used to almost lift the roof with 'Will your anchor hold in the storm of life?' Great exercise and filled us with energy. Singing is an important human activity, who cares if it's hymns or pop-songs, we didnt understand half the hymns anyway.
I'm not religious at all, but like to sing 'Jesus bids us shine' to DD. It takes me back instantly to when i was 7 years old.

Where do I sign?

Our pupils love singing. As well as assemblies, we have a musical production every year that everyone seems to take part in.

We aslo have a highly competitive house singing competition, again which everyone does. This is completely run by the house captains, with no arm-twisting from staff.

The Christmas talent show is really popular (my form won it this year )

Singing yes, hymns no. Not everyone wants to participate in an act of Christian worship, & it's not like a church service where presumably if you're there, you're on side!

The teenagers I teach would be a) utterly freaked out at the thought of involving themselves in anything so direly uncool & b) up in arms about excluding the non-Christian students.

(They do belt out a mean version of 'Hazy Shade of Winter' or 'Never Ever' come Presentation Evening, mind you - Head of Music is a big fan of girl bands!)

Hymns are sung at my son's school(C of E primary) but I've a feeling they do lots of very modern hymns such as "shine jesus shine" ...this is ok but I wish they would sing a few more traditional childrens hymns such as "all things bright and beautiful" too.

Just remembered, I did change the lyrics to:
'Alfie bids us shine...' so i wouldnt have to explain who Jesus was

singing goes on at assemblies in all the prtimary schools I know.

i am not religious either but felt slightly ashamed last month when - at a funeral- i found myself opening up my lungs big time!
my children cowered beside me!

oh I do that PYBF, dp was hugely embarrassed at the school carol concert last year.
I just loathe all that "...I'm hardly going to open my mouth cos someone might hear me/look at me" stuff - and that's the adults.

it feels good!
Isn't this just a tiny bit of what modern teenagers need?
just ten minutes every couple of days?

i am feeling a bit fired up

why not email a few schools?

DD's school (private prep, CoE domain) has daily assemblies with hymn singing each time. They also have hymn prctise as well as music lessons which involve singing.

the last things schools will thank you for is yet another thing to squeeze into the curriculum.

There'll be plenty of after school clubs/choir opportunties. let them use their initiative.

My two sing in assembly every day at their infant and junior schools. Not hymns I don't think though but songs like "one more step along the road we go" (infants) and DD often sings pop songs in her assembly (headteacher is a bit of an old groover I think ) and they have a CD on and sing things like "Weather with you"!! Cooool

...but I do think they could chuck in a few hymns and then maybe the Brownies would know the hymns at church parade!

are you familiar with hymn lyrics?

who me?

ish - well-no but i once was....?

Me? Lots

it wont be curriculum