After January’s Graduation ceremony for our PGCEi students at Birmingham’s Symphony Hall was cancelled, we did what the pandemic has taught us to do best. Get online and get on with championing remarkable music teaching.  And so, minus the caps and gowns, we gathered on zoom to celebrate the achievements of our first two cohorts of PGCEi students. If anyone knows how to navigate change and uncertainty, it’s these graduates. Their commitment to completing a rigorous Masters level teaching qualification during the pandemic all the while juggling disappearing performance careers, disoriented students and becoming overnight Youtube content creators, is nothing short of impressive!

Our fantastic trustee Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason in her rousing speech for the graduates, captured the importance of their dedication to the teaching profession. Speaking of the impact and contribution music teachers make on their students’ lives, she reminded graduates:

‘..many will keep the music they have learned, the self-expression and self-confidence you have enabled, with them for the rest of their lives. You will create the audiences for music performances of the future. You will create the imaginative and sympathetic politicians we need. You will encourage people to have the creativity of mind to understand and connect with others who are different from them. You will be at the forefront of building a generation that values community and communication. You will educate a generation to think.’ (excerpt from Kadiatu Kanneh-Mason’s Speech, 8th January 2022)

Seizing the occasion to launch the next phase of the graduates’ journey as leaders in music education, we went on to explore what as a Network they hoped to achieve. And we also took the opportunity to listen to their unique teacher’s perspective on a variety of experiences and opportunities we have been busy planning for future cohorts taking the course.

An online notice board of different ‘offers and requests’ also emerged where graduates could extend their wealth of advice and skills to one another, from folk teaching specialisms and sourcing repertoire by female composers to providing informal wellbeing phone calls. This, together with an exciting new coaching offer from our fabulous trustee and coach Philippa Thomas, gave our graduates a taste of the supportive teaching community we will continue to build and champion together.