Education | ED06 | Summer 2019

An interview with
MAniC
Dulwich Prep Cranbrook
Clemency Whiting, Head of Music
pupils can learn
almost any instrument at
dulwich, with a team of twenty visiting music
teachers, many of whom are professional players themselves.
our rock school formed about two years ago and
since then it has grown with popularity. we have
three bands made up of pupils largely in Years 7 and
8, but pupils as young as 9 or 10 are now forming
their own bands, often with the guidance of the
senior pupils, which is wonderful to see. one of our
bands is called Manic, the others are still deciding!
in February we had our first rock school Concert
in aid of the sam west Foundation* and this
summer rock school will perform at our summer
Concert, the Friends of dulwich summer Fair,
and at the woodlands Festival in hawkhurst.
it is only a matter of time before some of them go
on to form proper bands. when we see our pupils
perform, it is hard to believe how young they are.
we have one pupil, twinkle (an excellent rock ‘n’
roll name), who sounds like the next adele.
Charlie andrew, brit award-winning producer
of alt J, is a famous former dulwich pupil, and it
is only a matter of time before we have more.
our music department values all types of music and
this is certainly an avenue for children who prefer rock
and pop. however, we often find that our best rockers are
also top players in our orchestra. For example, we have an
excellent guitarist who is also an incredible bassoonist.
if you have a love and enjoyment of music, it is
natural to explore different genres and get involved.
in this way, our pupils get a truly rounded experience
of what music can offer, shaping their curiosity for all
types of music as they move into their later teens.
dulwich prep Cranbrook, kent 01580 712179
dulwichprepcranbrook.org
Twinkle, vocals; Henry, drums; Elliot, keyboard;
Alex, electric guitar; Zane, electric guitar
elliot: in my very first week at dulwich our
teacher realised i played the keyboard and invited
me to meet the others, it was so great.
we are like a big family, it is such good fun.
so far Manic have performed Born to Be Wild
and The Best of You by the Foo Fighters. we are
now working on a new song that twinkle has
written, inspired by sam smith’s Stay with Me.
we like a wide variety of music, twinkle listens to
60’s music, i like guns & roses and aCdC.
after our concert, loads of people came up
to us and said we were amazing. it made us
feel really proud and more determined.
*the Sam West Foundation has been set up by the family
of Sam West, a cranbrook student who took his own life,
after suffering depression. the charity’s mission is to help
people find the appropriate resources to improve their
mental health and wellbeing. samwestfoundation.org