Chetham's summer school for pianists

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Has anyone been on this? What did you think? I have a 12 year old on grade 7 and a 9 year old on grade 3; will everyone else be better? Does it matter? I'm trying to find fun things to do in the summer, and mine both love music!

It's amazing! I found out through mumsnet about this school and sent my 16 year old grade 8 for the second week. The age group seemed to be more secondary school age but there were a handful of younger ones who were very sensitively looked after. The ability level seemed high and the concerts and workshops were serious but encouraging. With kids your age, you'd probably stay with them in accomodation provided by the school. i stayed in the Premier Inn which is five minutes away, just to leave and pick him up.

DS said he didn't want to go again this year because there is a curfew for under 18s (they were also kept in during the gay pride parade), but that didn't stop them roaming the corridors until 3am! He made some nice friends and still follows them on Facebook. Quite a lot of them were half English and over for language experience too. Upper to middle class, I would say.
The pastoral care was very strong ( I'm sure you read about the abuse case in the 80s) led by a jolly Welsh ex-policewoman who had obviously seen it all! DS wasn't impressed by the food and told me it was the same menu the caterers gave to the local prison!
So for teenagers, certainly! For your age group, you should probably stay with them. Hope this helps!

sgtmajormummy thank you for posting; it's useful to get an idea of the sort of students who attend; I am hovering over the idea of postponing for a couple of years so my youngest can get more out of it, and hopefully enter as a much better musician.