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Article: Young, gifted ... and mostly middle class
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- January 11, 1996
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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In the large practice block at Chetham's School of Music, in
Manchester, thirty 11- and 12-year-olds are doing their third
practice stint of the day, another session of 40 minutes in a daily
round of almost three hours. Bach, Handel and Scarlatti, on piano,
violin, recorder and organ, emanate from the small practice rooms;
one child is improvising, another pokes his head repeatedly out the
door. Supervisors patrol the corridors.
Founded in 1655 by Humphrey Chetham as a charity school for 44
boys, Chetham's has since 1969 been a specialist music school,
catering for 280 boy and girl boarders between 8 and 18. The school
is state-aided, with parents contributing to fees according to
income, ...