Highfield School and Haslemere Festival launch youth music project

Highfield School and Haslemere Festival invite pupils from across the local area to rehearse with professional musicians and perform at Haslemere Hall.

What will the orchestras of tomorrow sound like? The answer depends, in part, on the opportunities children have to make music together today.

Highfield School, an independent day and boarding school in Liphook, Hampshire, is partnering with Haslemere Festival to bring young musicians from local schools together. Haslemere Festival Youth Music 2027 will give pupils the opportunity to rehearse alongside professional musicians and perform at Haslemere Hall.

The project comes at a time when access to music education is a growing concern. Research by the Incorporated Society of Musicians has highlighted declining provision and inequalities in children’s opportunities to learn music in England. By inviting local state and independent schools to take part and funding buses to the first event, Highfield hopes to help more pupils experience what it means to play as part of an orchestra.

The programme is open to pupils in Years 4 to 8 who play an orchestral instrument or recorder, from pre-Grade 1 through to Grade 8. By including recorder players, the project gives children at an earlier stage of learning the chance to play alongside more experienced instrumentalists. For some, it may be the first time they have followed music as part of a larger group and heard how their own part contributes to the whole.

The project begins with an orchestral play day at Highfield on Tuesday 6 October 2026, where pupils will rehearse and take part in workshops alongside musicians from the Royal Military School of Music. Sarah Craven, who directs Highfield’s orchestra, is arranging the music especially for the project to suit each child’s ability. The children will then work towards a gala performance at Haslemere Hall on Saturday 22 May 2027.

Jessica Harman, Director of Music at Highfield School, said: 'We hear concerns about the future of orchestras, but their future begins with the opportunities we give children now. Haslemere is such a wonderful area for music-making and we want to ensure the tradition transfers to the youngest members of our community. If a child never gets the chance to play with other musicians, how will they discover what an orchestra can mean to them?'

That’s why we’ve made room for recorder players as well as orchestral instrumentalists. We want more children to experience making music together, whatever stage they’re at, and to feel that the orchestra is somewhere they belong.”

Music and the performing arts are an important part of life at Highfield. The school values the opportunities they give children to express themselves and grow in confidence. This partnership extends those opportunities beyond Highfield, bringing pupils from different schools together to prepare for a performance in a professional venue.

Mrs Suzannah Cryer, Head of Highfield School, said: 'If we want children to grow up valuing music, we need to give them the chance to experience making it for themselves. Playing alongside professional musicians and performing at Haslemere Hall could be a moment they remember for years.

'The arts are central to the education we offer at Highfield, and we’re delighted to work with Haslemere Festival to open this opportunity to children across our local schools.'

Schools interested in participating can contact Jessica Harman at jharman@highfieldschool.com. Places will be allocated through participating schools.

October 2026