School samba stars

DRUMMING up success . . . Pupils at St Augustine’s practice the sounds of the samba

PUPILS at St Augustine’s School hit all the right notes at this year’s spectacular Oldham Schools’ Music Festival.

The Werneth school entered two aspiring groups of talented young musicians to perform at the festival showcase concert at The Queen Elizabeth Hall.

The youngsters worked tirelessly to arrange a piece of samba music to open the showcase concert on Friday.

St Augustine’s pupils also teamed up with Corpus Christi RC Primary School and performed as a joint orchestra under the direction of their conductor, Miss Annabel Revell.

Significant investment over the past year has ensured the ongoing revival and success of the music department at St Aug-ustine’s.

The financial backing has allowed the new curriculum leader for music, Andrew Oliver, to buy new musical equipment to help pupils’ improve their skills.

And this has been seen, not only in the success at the music festival, but also in the acclaimed production of “Bugsy Malone” earlier in the year.

Meanwhile, the junior samba band and guitar ensemble are making good progress towards their summer performances.

The school’s recent successes will be celebrated during the summer concert, which will take place at the school tomorrow, at 7pm.

It will feature performances by the junior and senior samba bands, the joint orchestra with children from Corpus Christi, the guitar ensemble and performances by several soloists and ensembles.

The concert will also include a short performance of “As You Like It” by the school drama group.

Oldham Council’s Service Director for Learning Development and Local-ities Janet Doherty said: “It is excellent news to hear that the music department at St Augustine’s has been working so hard to nurture pupils’ musical abilities. There are many talented youngsters in the borough and the Oldham Schools’ Music Festival is a great opportunity for the children and young people to showcase their talent and enjoy performing live to an audience.”