On January 9^th Fitzalan welcomed Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge to our school to kick off the start of their PR tour for the newly formed Ed Sheeran Foundation.

Accompanied by his longtime songwriting partner and Aloud Ambassador, Wales-based Amy Wadge, Ed Sheeran began his visit by surprising all the Music options groups, and the two were treated to a performance of 2002 by our year 10 creative option group as well as a performance of Ed’s own song Perfect performed by year 11 GCSE pupils Eleni Constantinou and Megan Thurston. The pupils were ecstatic to have Ed and Amy in their midst and listened with rapt attention as Ed and Amy shared advice on getting past writers block and some inspirational wisdom about remaining resilient and confident in your interests and passions.

While Ed, Amy and a number of staff from Fitzalan and Aloud met over coffee to discuss the role music education has in developing young people’s confidence and the struggles some pupils face when accessing music education the whole school was being treated to a stunning performance from Only Boys Aloud.  To say our pupils and the Old Boys Aloud group were stunned when Ed Sheeran walked out to join them on stage  is an understatement. Ed and Amy then listened to the final performance from the choir. The visit culminated in a show-stopping moment when Ed performed two songs on stage and gave the chance for pupils to ask him questions during a short Q&A session. Leaving a trail of inspiration and excitement in his wake, Ed and Amy then made their way to Eastmoors Youth Centre in Splott, and the city-centre youth project Grassroots.

The Ed Sheeran Foundation is a UK-wide initiative committed to addressing inequalities in music education by supporting state schools and grassroots music organisations, particularly in underserved areas and designed to support youth music education across the UK through grant-making, raising awareness, and fostering collaborations.

Speaking about the foundation, Ed said: “Music education has shaped who I am. I’ve always enjoyed playing music, and it’s led to some of the best moments of my life” The Ed Sheeran Foundation is about breaking down barriers and opening doors to creativity.”

Fitzalan is so grateful to have been able to welcome Ed and Amy into our school and our pupils have been so inspired by their conversations with them. We hope to welcome Amy back into school in the near future and extend our huge appreciation to the Ed Sheeran Foundation for supporting our music department, allowing us to provide access to additional peripatetic lessons to a wider number of pupils.