Music lovers in King’s Lynn are in for a treat, with this year’s Community Music Festival due to take place at the beginning of July.

The free, four-day event at Springwood High School will showcase the best of West Norfolk’s musical talents, from big bands and choirs, to rock and pop stars.

Organised by the West Norfolk Academies Trust, performances will take place from 6pm each evening from Monday 6 to Thursday 9 July, and will feature 800 musicians and singers from across the region.

Our Director of Music, Robin Norman, is involved in planning the event each year.

“Over four nights, we would like to invite all the local community to Springwood for some fantastic, free, community music,” he said.

“It’s a chance to bring a chair or a blanket, and maybe a picnic, and enjoy live performances, courtesy of the West Norfolk Academies Trust.”

Each night’s entertainment has a specific theme, catering for all musical tastes across the course of the week.

Mr Norman explained: “On Monday 6 July, we kick things off with a night of concert bands, big bands, and orchestra, when the bands of Springwood will be joined by the West Norfolk Music Centre, West Norfolk Reeds, Centre Stage Swing Band, and the King’s Lynn Town Band, for a wonderful celebration of community bands and light music classics.”

He continued: “On Tuesday, we feature some of the best up-and-coming rock and pop performers across West Norfolk schools in our ‘Rock and Pop Evening’.

“Wednesday is the highlight of the week, when a total of over 200 young people will perform in a selection of nineties hits through school choirs, and three combined items.

“This is before we end the week with a celebration of the long-standing music tradition of Springwood, with our end-of-year ‘Springwood Spectacular’.”

It will be the fifth time the Community Music Festival has taken place, with more than 900 people attending last year’s event.

Mr Norman added: “Over the week, close to 800 performers will take part from both schools and the local community.

“We feel it is important to work with our local community, and so this is our way of thanking everyone for their support, with four nights of what we do best – live music.”

Spelling whizzes went head to head in an annual Trust competition, where pupils from ten schools were challenged to showcase their skills.

The West Norfolk Academies Trust Primary Spelling Bee featured 30 Key Stage 2 children from Years 3 to 6 across our member primary schools, which included Clenchwarton, Walpole Cross Keys, West Lynn, Gaywood, Snettisham, and Heacham Junior, alongside Terrington St John, Tilney St Lawrence, Walpole Highway, and West Walton from the Windmill Federation.

The event took place at Heacham Junior School and was overseen by Emma Hunt, who is WNAT English Lead as well as Executive Headteacher at the Windmill Federation.

“The event forms part of a programme of activities organised by the Trust throughout the academic year,” she said. “These events are designed to build pupils’ confidence, provide opportunities to interact and socialise with peers from other schools within the Trust, develop new skills, and, above all, ensure that pupils enjoy themselves.”

It was the fourth time the Spelling Bee had taken place, with three entrants from each primary qualifying via previous stages held in individual classes and schools. Primary Trust Assistant Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Coordinator (SENDCo) Darren Furzey was on hand to call out the words.

Mrs Hunt continued: “Pupils pick a number from a hat  – this matches a chair for competitors to sit in. Spellings are called out and individuals answer. They remain in the competition until they spell a word incorrectly, then they sit down until a winner is found.”

Words successfully tackled by this year’s competitors included ‘accommodate’, ‘government’, ‘sincerely’, and ‘quadrilateral’, while the winner was Olivia from Clenchwarton, who correctly spelled ‘accomplishment’ to win a Kindle Fire tablet. Everyone participating received a certificate and chocolate.

Mrs Hunt added: “The Spelling Bee is a particularly valuable event, as it helps pupils develop a deeper understanding of the English language, while expanding their vocabulary.

Beyond learning to spell words correctly, participation encourages planning, preparation, perseverance, and effective study habits, all of which contribute to pupils’ overall academic development.”

There was a treat in store for music lovers, when musicians from the West Norfolk Academies Trust came together for a Piano Recital.

The performance featured pianists from across our primary and secondary schools, and took place at Springwood High School in King’s Lynn.

Besides host Springwood, other participating high schools included Marshland in West Walton, St Clement’s in Terrington St Clement, and Smithdon in Hunstanton, while among the primaries taking part were Clenchwarton, Gaywood, Heacham Junior, Snettisham, Walpole Cross Keys, and West Lynn.

“Performers represented a broad range of students, from debut and initial-level performers, through to diploma-level pianists,” said our Peripatetic Music Lead, Benjamin Howell, who oversaw the event, with the support of Trust staff including CEO Andy Johnson, and Director of Music Robin Norman.

“One of the lovely aspects of the recital was the variety of repertoire featured, spanning everything from pop and contemporary music, through to Baroque and classical works,” he continued.

“We also included several piano duets within the programme, which always add a particularly engaging dimension to the evening.”

Musical events are held regularly within our Trust, with a previous piano recital having taken place in the Autumn Term.

“Events such as these form an important part of the wider musical journey across the Trust, providing valuable stepping stones towards both short- and long-term goals for our students,” added Mr Howell.

“This very much reflects the ethos of the WNAT Peri Team this year: Practice, Progress, Performance.”

A St Clement’s High School student’s project benefited from a voice of experience, when she interviewed a former Leader of the House of Lords about women in politics.

Leah Barton, who is in Year 10 at the school, spoke to Conservative Life Peer Baroness Evans of Bowes Park as part of her GCSE Citizenship project in which she was investigating the unequal representation of women in politics.

“The focus of the interview was to understand more about unequal representation of women in politics and how it can affect women wanting to get into politics or standing as a candidate in an election,” she explained. “I asked Baroness Evans about her personal opinion and perspective of unequal representation, and what she thinks could be done to improve the divide from a young age.

“She said that social media plays a big part in this, due to abuse targeted at women and pressures from the public; however, she did say that attitudes and stereotypes have improved. She thinks that schools should create more opportunities for young girls to become more politically engaged, through bringing MPs into school and having more discussions about politics.

“Overall, women in politics are very under-represented, where stereotypes and criticism are a high influence on women, and if support was given to women when starting, it can give them more confidence to have as they go through the process of being a candidate, and encourage them to believe they can win and become a councillor or MP at some point, if they have the true courage.”

Baroness Evans was made a Life Peer in 2014, and served as Leader of the House of Lords from 2016 to 2022. Her husband, James Wild, is the Member of Parliament for North West Norfolk.

Due to a last-minute commitment, the interview was conducted over the phone, where St Clement’s Head of Citizenship, Abigail Morton, was on hand to facilitate proceedings.

“Leah’s target in particular was to gain specific insight into the perspectives of women currently involved in politics, as to whether women are under-represented, whether they are elected representatives themselves, women working within political parties, or female candidates in local elections,” she said.

“Her aim is to gather a wide range of ideas, views, and opinions, through both primary and secondary research, in order to write a report to show her findings. Her findings will conclude whether or not there is inequality in politics based on gender.”

Other Citizenship projects at St Clement’s, which is a member of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, have seen students take part in fundraising, campaign on issues affecting the area, and volunteer within the community.

Mrs Morton continued: “Year 10 GCSE Citizenship students are all currently working on their Active Citizenship Investigations at the moment. This is an independent project which is 15 per cent of their total grade. They have to choose a topic of interest and either carry out an investigation into an issue, or carry out a form of advocacy to make a difference in the community or in wider society.

“We have students raising money for various charities, we have students raising awareness of the impact of potholes on young people in the community, students volunteering to visit the residents at Terrington Lodge Care Home, and this is just some of the outstanding action being taken by our Year 10 students at the moment.”

She added: “Leah is the first student at St Clement’s to interview a member of the House of Lords as part of their Active Citizenship project. We are very proud of Leah for showing initiative and reaching out to various people in aid of her project.

“We are very excited that Baroness Evans was able to be of such a great deal of help to Leah in reaching a conclusion in her GCSE work.”

Sports stars from a WNAT school had the chance to shine, when they travelled to Spain for a week of football and basketball.

The 35 students from Years 8 to 10 at Marshland High School were taking part in the school’s annual sports tour to the Costa Brava, where they competed in a series of sporting fixtures, as well as enjoying visits to attractions in the area.

The trip first took place in 1998, and has been organised since 2015 by Head of Character and Culture Dom Stannard.

“Students competed in a range of football and basketball fixtures against local Spanish clubs,” he said. “Alongside the sporting programme, students also enjoyed a variety of experiences and activities throughout the week, including visits to a theme park, a water park, and a tour of the famous Camp Nou.

“Students also took part in a football training session at the training facilities of RCD Espanyol, as well as a basketball coaching session during the tour, giving them valuable opportunities to develop their skills in a different sporting environment.”

He continued: “Students showed excellent determination and resilience in challenging fixtures against strong opposition, while also creating fantastic memories together off the pitch and court.

“One of the biggest highlights was seeing the positive team spirit across the entire group. Students consistently encouraged one another, celebrated each other’s successes, and represented Marshland High School extremely well throughout the tour.”

The students enjoyed their Spanish experience - with one celebrating a birthday on the tour.

“I loved it, all of it was my favourite,” said Alfie McClure. “It was my birthday whilst we were there which made it extra special. Everyone had signed a card for me, and we had a lovely cake.”

Ava Norman was Player of the Match during one of the school’s football fixtures.

“I enjoyed the trip,” she said. “The best part was the football, as I was playing in goal for the first time, and I did very well, getting player of the match for the game. I definitely gained confidence during the trip – it was fantastic.”

Tyler Colville agreed: “I really enjoyed the trip. It’s hard to choose the best part, as I loved it all – an amazing experience.”

Mr Stannard added: “Trips like this are incredibly important for students, both personally and socially. They provide experiences and opportunities that go far beyond sport itself. Students develop independence, teamwork, resilience, communication skills, and confidence, while also learning how to represent themselves and the school positively in a different environment.

“Most importantly, trips like this help students grow in confidence and maturity, while creating positive experiences that can have a lasting impact long after the tour has finished.”