Sing to Change project which united pupils from Boston, Lincolnshire and Boston, USA wins Music Mark ‘This Is Not A Rehearsal’ Sustainability Award

An initiative which saw primary pupils work with students across the pond has won a music award for sustainability.

The Sing to Change project saw some 1,500 children from 14 schools near Boston, Lincolnshire and Boston, Massachusetts come together to send a message about climate change through song.

Now, the organisers of the scheme, Project Partners Lincolnshire Music Service, The Come and Sing Company and Scruffy Bear Media have snagged the Music Mark ‘This Is Not A Rehearsal’ Sustainability Award 2024 - recognising the work being done to highlight challenges and give creative solutions in how music education responds to climate issues.

The children spent months rehearsing a performance of the song ‘Change’ by eco-musician Dane Myers which was then turned into a music video.

Darren S Cook and Nicky Hagan of Scruffy Bear Media filmed a documentary with experts and project collaborators to show the message of the project so it could be shared far and wide.

Sally Massey, assistant executive headteacher and head of school at Westmere Primary, in Sutton Bridge said: “Sing to Change was a fantastic opportunity to offer our pupils the chance to participate in a powerful and meaningful music-making experience.

“We are a three-school federation, made up of two extremely small, rural schools, plus a third school in a highly deprived area.

“For these reasons, it is often hard logistically - and through lack of opportunity - for our pupils to have experiences like this where they take part in a collaborative project with other schools in our area, let alone schools across the Atlantic.

“It gave our children hope of doing something to raise awareness of saving our oceans and our world, as well as providing a sense of awe that they were connecting with children from around the world.

She added that once the video was released it gave the students a sense of pride and self-worth.

The Sing to Change initiative plans to carry on by starting its next stage which will focus on food scarcity, poverty, biodiversity loss and sustainable agriculture.