Evaluation Report St John Notting Hill Low Quality

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Evaluation Report
Organ Restoration at St John’s Notting Hill
March 2012 – May 2015
Project Ref: HG-10-03763
By Jamie Singleton
Activities Manager

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Please note: all links in the Table of Contents and all ‘see page 00’ references throughout the report can be clicked on – this
will take the reader to the relevant item. For ‘see page 00’ links, the page number should be clicked on.
Table of Contents
Executive Summary............................................................................................................................................. 5
What we wanted to happen ...........................................................................................................................................................5
Key Aims of the project...................................................................................................................................................................5
What I Wanted to Achieve..............................................................................................................................................................6
Delay in Organ Restoration.................................................................................................................................. 7
Viewing Gallery and Other Capital Works Notes................................................................................................... 8
Activity 1: Pre-restoration School Workshops .....................................................................................................10
Activity 2: School Visits.......................................................................................................................................12
School Visits Feedback...................................................................................................................................................................13
Activity 4: Post Restoration Workshops ..............................................................................................................16
Activity 3: Schools Workshops with Organ Model................................................................................................20
Schools Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................................29
Activity 5: Documenting the Restoration.............................................................................................................32
Activity 6: Adult Learning ...................................................................................................................................35
Three Lectures...............................................................................................................................................................................35
Tea Dance......................................................................................................................................................................................36
Learning course – An Organic Life.................................................................................................................................................38
Activity 7: Exhibitions.........................................................................................................................................41
Activity 8: Concerts and Recitals .........................................................................................................................49
1. Opening recital by internationally known organists .................................................................................................................50
2. Community choral concert, featuring local choirs of different genres, a community choir and a choir of schoolchildren......52
Sing West London..........................................................................................................................................................................................53
The Fulham and Hammersmith Choral Society .............................................................................................................................................54
The Kensington Singers .................................................................................................................................................................................55
The Duomo Singers .......................................................................................................................................................................................56
The Choral Scholars.......................................................................................................................................................................................57
Future Choir Concerts ...................................................................................................................................................................................58
Children’s Choir Concert ...............................................................................................................................................................................58
3. Lunchtime recitals by students of the Royal Academy of Music...............................................................................................59
4. Peace concert celebrating the theme of peace and liberation on World Peace Day................................................................59
Recording of If I Have Freedom.....................................................................................................................................................................61
5. Carnival concert, around the time of the Notting Hill Carnival and featuring the music of Notting Hill ..................................62
6. Winter recitals featuring an internationally renowned organist ..............................................................................................67
Silent Film Nights...........................................................................................................................................................................................68
Recital Series May – July 2014.......................................................................................................................................................................74
Recital Series 2015 ........................................................................................................................................................................................77
Further Concerts and Events items not included in Activities Plan...............................................................................................79
The Hermes Experiment................................................................................................................................................................................79
Kate Whitley – Organ Concerto.....................................................................................................................................................................81
Project R November 2014 .............................................................................................................................................................................81
Georgian Cultural Evening April 2014 ...........................................................................................................................................................82
Resonance FM visit March 2014 ...................................................................................................................................................................82

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Bach to Baby January 2015 ...........................................................................................................................................................................84
Sangerstevne Festival May 2015...................................................................................................................................................................84
BBC Scotland Recording May 2014 ...............................................................................................................................................................85
The jtunes December 2014 ...........................................................................................................................................................................85
Concerts and Recitals Conclusion..................................................................................................................................................86
Activity 9: Visits and Open Days..........................................................................................................................87
1. Organised visits by special interest groups such as the Organ Club, NADFAS, local music & history societies, etc. ................87
The Organ Club..............................................................................................................................................................................................88
The British Institute of Organ Studies (BIOS).................................................................................................................................................88
The Surrey Organ Association, The Central London and Eastern Society of Organists, and The Bromley and Croydon Organ Association.89
The Royal College of Organists (RCO)............................................................................................................................................................89
The Open Age Men’s Group in February 2015 and The Open Age History Group in March 2015 ................................................................90
The Ealing National Trust Association ...........................................................................................................................................................93
Exploring London and Beyond.......................................................................................................................................................................93
Further visits..................................................................................................................................................................................................94
2. Informal tourist visits ................................................................................................................................................................94
3. Two Open Days per year to include demonstrations, workshops, lectures and other activities..............................................94
Open House London Day...............................................................................................................................................................................94
The Highest and Lowest Notes of an Organ ..................................................................................................................................................96
Visits and Open Days Conclusion ..................................................................................................................................................98
Note on Talented Young Musicians - Scholars .....................................................................................................99
Website – www.stjohnsorganproject.com ........................................................................................................100
Home Screen...............................................................................................................................................................................100
The organ, including restoration details .....................................................................................................................................100
Events listings..............................................................................................................................................................................102
Exhibitions...................................................................................................................................................................................103
School visits.................................................................................................................................................................................103
The Video College Film................................................................................................................................................................104
If I have Freedom recording........................................................................................................................................................104
Thank you....................................................................................................................................................................................105
Photo gallery ...............................................................................................................................................................................105
Website numbers........................................................................................................................................................................105
Volunteers.......................................................................................................................................................106
Community Payback....................................................................................................................................................................106
University of Nottingham Work Experience Module ..................................................................................................................107
Erasmus Student .........................................................................................................................................................................107
History Exhibition Volunteers .....................................................................................................................................................107
Tea Dance Organisers..................................................................................................................................................................107
School workshops .......................................................................................................................................................................107
The Video College........................................................................................................................................................................107
Adult Learning Course.................................................................................................................................................................108
Concerts, events, visits and open days .......................................................................................................................................108
Music Librarian............................................................................................................................................................................108
Accountant..................................................................................................................................................................................109
Left out........................................................................................................................................................................................109
Volunteer Numbers.....................................................................................................................................................................109
Volunteer appreciation events....................................................................................................................................................110

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Numbers of People...........................................................................................................................................111
Numbers of those who visited the organ to take part in activities.............................................................................................111
Estimated Tourist Visits...............................................................................................................................................................111
Verified online figures.................................................................................................................................................................111
Printed brochure and flier circulations .......................................................................................................................................112
Printed media circulations ..........................................................................................................................................................112
Further inclusion on online/radio/TV with only rough numbers known ....................................................................................113
Numbers of People Summary .....................................................................................................................................................113
Review.............................................................................................................................................................114
Key Aims of the project...............................................................................................................................................................114
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................................................................115
The Organ Project in the Media – Press Cuttings ...............................................................................................119
In Print.........................................................................................................................................................................................119
Organists’ Review........................................................................................................................................................................................119
Choir & Organ Magazine – two articles.......................................................................................................................................................123
Notting Hill and Holland Park Magazine......................................................................................................................................................126
Kensington and Chelsea Today....................................................................................................................................................................128
Diocese of London Annual Report...............................................................................................................................................................128
Church Building and Heritage Review Magazine.........................................................................................................................................129
The Kensington Magazine ...........................................................................................................................................................................132
The London Organ Concerts Guide .............................................................................................................................................................133
Online media (selected examples) ..............................................................................................................................................134
The Royal School of Church Music ..............................................................................................................................................................134
Notting Hill Post ..........................................................................................................................................................................................135
The Guide to Notting Hill.............................................................................................................................................................................136
Diocese of London Website.........................................................................................................................................................................138
City Living Local Life ....................................................................................................................................................................................139
Open House London website ......................................................................................................................................................................140
The Sampler ................................................................................................................................................................................................141
London Calling.............................................................................................................................................................................................142
Time out ......................................................................................................................................................................................................143
All in London................................................................................................................................................................................................143
Organrecitals.com .......................................................................................................................................................................................144
Twitter.........................................................................................................................................................................................................145
Facebook:....................................................................................................................................................................................................158

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Executive Summary
What we wanted to happen
The church had a unique heritage item in its possession which had fallen into disrepair. The restoration of the organ was a key
part of the church’s musical and community plans. The Parochial Church Council (PCC) had for a long time desired a strong
Anglican music tradition. This involves singing and organ playing to a high standard during services, led by professional
musicians. This could not be achieved with the organ in its pre-restored condition. The PCC was also keen (and remains so) that
St John’s Notting Hill continued to play a central role as a hub of the local community, with many activities taking place in the
church.
The cost of restoring the organ was prohibitively expensive. After initial research, it was known that the organ would be of
interest to the HLF due to its significant heritage, and also due to the church’s strong integration in the community. There was
ample opportunity for an activities programme to be put together around the organ’s restoration. This was desirable to the
church because organ would be restored and community activity would be increased, with new audiences reached. The church
is very keen to play a part in supporting the local Notting Hill community. The organ restoration would allow the church to
develop a programme of activities which would include school participation, learning and events for older people, a music and
events programme, and opportunities to volunteer, all on offer to the Notting Hill and wider community. This would help with
community cohesion by providing affordable/free opportunities in a variety of activities, improving the wellbeing of a diverse
community.
On page 16 of the Activities Plan submitted to the HLF during the bid process (also included with the final Competition Report),
the following Key Aims of the project are listed:
Key Aims of the project
This project meets both national and local strategies (see Appendix 3) to create more opportunities for people of all ages to learn
and participate in a heritage project that delivers genuine benefits.
Its overarching aim is to conserve an extremely rare musical instrument of quality and by doing so, use it as the focal point of a
programme of activities which will teach, encourage and entertain a broad cross-section of society.
This programme will focus not only on the organ as a musical instrument but also on its historical connections, going back as far
as its origins in Clapham and its links to the Clapham Sect, through to the growth and development of Notting Hill over the period
of its service at St John’s.
The rare Barker lever action will be a feature of the programme and in particular used to demonstrate the science that is integral
to an organ’s performance as well as emphasise the ingenuity of the Victorian era.
This will be achieved in the following ways:
1. By providing learning opportunities for young people that are focussed on the heritage of the historic organ, its history
and its music.
2. By focussing on core curriculum subjects through the history and structure of the historic organ (such subjects including
literacy, numeracy, science, music, history, religious education and the arts)
3. Providing talented young people with an opportunity to develop their musical skills
4. Providing young adults with opportunities to participate as volunteers
5. Providing families with opportunities to participate in community events
6. Providing older people with opportunities to participate in learning through an appreciation of the organ, its history and
its music
7. Providing older people with opportunities to enjoy music in a safe and welcoming environment
8. Providing older people with opportunities to participate as trained volunteers and thereby give them a sense of
achievement and purpose

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9. Preserving an extremely rare historic organ for future generations to enjoy and presenting it in an innovative and
accessible way
10. Strengthening the relationship between the church of St John’s Notting Hill and the communities around it
I will conduct this evaluation report by looking at each of the main elements of the project as outlined on pages 39 - 46 in our
submitted Activities Plan (included under each heading in this report). When doing this, I will keep in mind this list taken from
the HLF’s evaluation guidance document (page 29):
a) Project management:
 The report should include management issues such as planning, staffing or the timetable.
b) The difference made by your project:
 The difference made to heritage;
 The difference made for people. Include data on activities, visitors, volunteers, trainees – but also the results of any
survey work you do and qualitative feedback that you collect; and
 The difference made for communities.
In doing this, it will be clear how we have fulfilled the ‘Key Aims of the project’ outlined above.
Before I begin this, I will discuss what I wanted to achieve, the delay in the organ’s restoration (which had an effect on most of
the activities), and the change to the Viewing Gallery plans.
What I Wanted to Achieve
Before becoming Activities Manager for this project, I was not an expert on organs. I probably knew more than the average
person due to being a music graduate, regularly attending musical concerts (including with organ), and daily being close to an
organ having worked in a church for several years. I had even arranged concerts with the organ during this time. However, I felt
like I was approaching the organ almost as an outsider. This was for two reasons.
Firstly, I feel that the organ was never readily available to me in my life. I think that, particularly for people who do not go to
church (and even those who do – many of the St John’s Notting Hill congregation have commented to me that they knew
nothing about organs before this project), organs can be inaccessible. Perhaps this is because they are expensive to maintain,
not portable, and there are not many of them to go round.
I might also have thought, before starting this project, that the ‘organ world’ (consisting of organists, music directors and
academics) could be snobbish, stuffy, and closed-off. This is totally wrong. Those working with organs are very keen to bring
audiences to the instrument, an instrument which many people feel passionate about.
This leads on to my second reason. I felt like an outsider because I hadn’t, up until this point, had the sense to be inquisitive
about organs, and to challenge and pre-conceptions. I now know that there is plenty of opportunity to see organs in this
country, many times for free. Maybe organs have an image-problem, because (anecdotally) this seems to be a common
complaint that I have encountered amongst the public during the course of this project.
I now have a far bigger appreciation for the instrument and what it can offer. There is naturally a great deal of interest in what is
a large piece of engineering, a historical item, and a musical instrument (the King of Instruments) all in one - capable of both
bombast and delicacy. I can see why people become passionate about them.
However, I do believe that they can be difficult to access for the public. As a school child, I have no recollection of ever
experiencing an organ. This is something that was reflected in this project, whereby many teachers (including in feedback in this
report) told me that their children had never seen an organ before – one child, during a school workshop, memorably asked us
“is this the only one?” – meaning in existence.
I therefore felt that one of the main aims of this project should be to open the organ up to new audiences, and have people
experience it who may not have done so before. I wanted people to change their minds about organs, as I had done. There is a
focus on this in this report, as well as on an increase in appreciation for heritage and community.

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Delay in Organ Restoration
The organ was taken away for restoration in April 2012, and was due back for Easter 2013 (the end of March). The restoration
was not completed by this time. The church was then informed by both the Organ Builder and Organ Adviser in April 2013 that
the organ would be ready for the inaugural recital with Thomas Trotter on 11th
May 2013. The Video College had been ready on
this day to record the final concert. In the event the organ was not ready, and this recital (along with other recitals) had to be
cancelled. The church’s Director of Music managed to play a piece of music on the organ which was suitable for the level of
restoration reached, as part of an evening of entertainment that was arranged within 24 hours.
In the end, the organ restoration was not completed (signed off) until January 2014, 10 months later than the original date of
March 2013. This created many problems with the planned activities, with many having to be rescheduled for when the organ
was ready. It also led on to a 10 month extension to the project’s completion date, from July 2014 to May 2015. This meant that
most activities did not happen in accordance with the submitted schedule; however, all were completed by the end of the
project.
Costs were also incurred because of the delay. Chief amongst these were increased production costs for the Video College – an
example being the cancelled shoot for Thomas Trotter, where much preparation had taken place with related expenditure.
Thomas Trotter’s fee was also paid to him without a concert taking place (necessary because the concert was cancelled with
only 24 hours’ notice), and we had to pay independent organ advisers and builders to come in and assess the organ restoration,
also at additional cost. All of these costs were deducted from the organ builder’s final invoice, which is explained in the budget
documents that I have submitted. The final added cost was for paying the Activities Manager to continue to managing the
project after the original deadline. There was money in the unused inflation budget for this, which was agreed with the HLF.
The second problem with the original Activities Plan, partly related to the organ’s delayed restoration, was that many activities
were planned to take place in the church during the time that the organ was being restored in Devon. This was a bad idea, as all
target groups did not want to take part in an activity based around an organ unless there was actually an organ to be seen and
heard. This was particularly true of schools. For example, the Black History Month visits were planned for when the organ was
being restored. However, most schools responded that they were not interested in bringing their children to the church whilst
the organ was not there, and would prefer to wait for it to be returned. The knock on effect of this was that there was less time
in which to carry out school workshops before the end of the project. This eventually led the most local schools growing
reluctant about attending, considering that many of their children had already visited 6 months previously – there should have
been a longer gap between the different school activities. The positive result of this was that schools from further afield were
contacted, and many more schools attended than planned. In the end, all planned workshops with schools were carried out.
It should be noted that the organ builders have been very helpful after the delay in restoration. An example of this would be
when the London Gypsy Orchestra performed with the organ and steel pan (see page 62). This concert occurred during a heat
wave, with temperatures going over 30 C. The organ’s tuning sharpens in heat, the steel pan’s tuning flattens. This led to the
two instruments, the main components of the concert, being a whole tone out of tune with each other, which sounded awful.
The organ builder and I subsequently spent 2 to 3 days before the concert retuning all of the ranks of reeds in the organ, making
them flatter – it is possible to tune reed pipes in this way. We then spent 2 to 3 days after the concert tuning the reeds back to
how they should be. The organ builder did this for no payment. Members of the team, led by Andrew Fearn, have also
volunteered at several days, and have tuned the organ before every concert in the recital series 2015, all without charge. It was
also the organ builder’s idea to put the organ model on the back of the case and glass panels on the side (see the next report
heading), and it was a member of the team who created the eagle sculpture on the case – these items have all been remarked
upon as big successes in the project. They are a friendly and knowledgeable team, very good at faithfully restoring heritage
organs, and the consensus is that the restored organ now sounds (and looks) fantastic – it got there in the end.

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Viewing Gallery and Other Capital Works Notes
After careful consideration, it was decided that the proposed viewing gallery would not be satisfactory. This was deduced after
preliminary architect and building works were carried out to the stairwell which leads up to where the proposed viewing gallery
was to be installed. The reason would be that, for the high cost, the actual view afforded by the gallery would show very little of
interest. This drawing was submitted by the church’s Organ Adviser, John Norman, at the time:
Essentially, the view would be the side of the swellbox – which looks much like the side of any other large wooden box, and is
not a particularly enlightening thing to see.
It was therefore decided that the viewing gallery should be scrapped, which was agreed with the HLF at the time. In its place,
glass panels were installed on the side of the organ, LED lights were installed inside (operable by stop-shaped switched on the
organ case), and a model was installed on the back. This achieved the intended effect of showing the mechanisms and pipes
inside the organ. In fact, this was achieved in a much improved way, with many components of the organ – including the
historically significant Barker Lever Action, many pipes, the bellows, stop action, sound boards, tremulant, pedal open and pedal
action – now very easy to view.
Glass panels on side of organ with LEDs inside illuminate

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Stop-shaped switches to operate LEDs, and organ model affixed to back of organ
There was a reduction in cost in the capital works related to the scrapping of the viewing gallery, which enabled the church to
fund a new eagle sculpture to adorn the organ case (agreed by the HLF), which is much admired by visitors.
Eagle Sculpture, designed and built by Ali Henham
It also enabled the church to purchase a more powerful organ blower. It had transpired, once the organ restoration was
complete, that the original organ blower did not have enough power to supply wind to the fully restored organ, so a
replacement was needed.
All of these changes had a large effect on the breakdown of the Capital Works budget for the project. Some budget headings
became redundant, whilst other budget headings decreased in cost as others increased. This is all explained in my Capital Works
budget notes, submitted with this completion report.
I will now look at each activity of the project.

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Activity 1: Pre-restoration School Workshops
The following is taken from page 39 of our Activities Plan:
The church had planned a series of 6 pre-restoration school workshops. We were only able to deliver 4 workshops, with 3
groups attending from the St Peter’s Notting Hill pre-school, and one from Sion Manning Secondary School. The total number of
children was 65. The reason that numbers were down was that it proved difficult to get the schools in before the organ was
taken to Devon for restoration – the grant was awarded in March 2012, and the organ was removed in early May 2012. Many
schools required a much longer lead time than this. Also, the role of Activities Manager was not filled until May 2012, which
meant that the project was not being properly managed until this time. A longer time should have been introduced between
grant being awarded and organ being taken away for restoration. As a result, it was decided that more workshops would be put
on after the restoration was completed.
The children who attended learnt about why this organ needed restoration. The church’s Director of Music at this time,
Matthew Fletcher, was present to show them how the different parts were not working properly. This increased their
knowledge of their local area’s heritage. It also showed the children that the history of their community was being preserved,
and therefore valued.
SC
School children from Sion Manning School
The children also had a chance to play the organ. This was recorded by the Video College as the first part of their video showing
the organ’s restoration (see page 32).
Unfortunately, due to the delay in the organ’s restoration (finished eventually in January 2014), these children had left school
before they had the opportunity to return.
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting HLF
aims
Pre-restoration
workshops
Over 5 days,
different groups
of school children
will visit St John’s
and see the organ
in its current
position and
condition,
understand why it
needs to be
restored and
removed.
Its history, and in
particular its links
to the anti-slavery
movement will
be explained.
Each workshop
will end with a
short quiz
designed to test
the students
knowledge
School children
from 6 different
schools from all
Key Stages 1 to 4
Approximately 30
students per visit
Estimated number
of visitors :
180
As part of
overall
project, fulfils
national
curriculum in
different areas.
Exposes pupils
to the history
of the organ
and gives a
context to the
importance of
restoration.
Provides a
starting point
for future
workshop
activities.
Director of
Music to act as
Animateur
Teachers,
classroom
assistants &
parents
Volunteers to
assist with
management of
workshop
Worksheets
Prizes
6 workshops
@ £150 per
workshop =
£900
Volunteer
travel - £200
Worksheets :
£150
March – April
2012
(dependant on
organ-builders
scheduled
removal of the
organ)
Positive
feedback.
Quiz results
Feedback sheets
for pupils and
staff.
Learning &
Participation

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An ongoing problem throughout the project came in engaging with secondary schools. It was often hard to simply have the
school pick up the phone, let alone have any meaningful interaction take place. This seemed to me to be because of the heavy
workloads that teachers have, along with secondary schools needing complicated consent procedures in place and long lead
times. The secondary schools also had limited time available in which to bring the students – they would often only be available
to visit, for example, for two hours on a Thursday afternoon, 1pm – 3pm, in accordance with whenever a double-lesson was
planned. Teachers were often reluctant in the first instance to lose this education time. In the second instance, the very specific
nature of when they were available did not always align with when the church was free; the church was very accommodating,
but there are certain instances when other events or services are taken place that simply cannot be changed, and if these
clashed with the very specific times that secondary schools were available, it meant they could not happen. This problem was
still present with primary schools but less pronounced, who were more flexible with time and required shorter lead times. It was
therefore decided, with HLF agreement, that future school workshops would focus on primary schools, as relying on the local
secondary schools was resulting in numbers not being fulfilled and much wasted time.
We had one volunteer who was primarily involved at this stage of the education workshops. Her name was Josephine Robinson,
and she helped to get the schools in, and assisted on the days. After these workshops, Josephine moved to Bristol, and was
unable to help any further. This highlighted the problem with having volunteers involved in strategic, management areas – when
volunteers leaving these roles it was very disruptive to the project. The same was true of the volunteer that was in place to
manage and galvanise other volunteers – this person left early on in the project, which created a lot of disruption. In future, we
focused on having volunteers carry out specific activities in the project, and left the Activities Manager to carry out these bigger
strategic roles.

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Activity 2: School Visits
“It was fantastic for them to experience an organ performance and the fact that this organ has historical significance linking to
Black History Month is particularly potent.” Emma Stiman, Teacher at Colville Primary school
The following is taken from Activities Plan, page 40:
The first thing to highlight here is the discrepancy shown above between ‘Estimated participants: 500’, and funding for ‘Director
of music 10 visits : £150 per visit: £1,500”. 10 visits, averaging 30 children per visit, totals 300 participants, not 500. This must
have been a mistake in the original submitted Activities Plan. I planned for 10 workshops in accordance with available funds in
the grant. The original idea was for the church’s Director of Music to deliver these workshops, discussing the history of the
organ with the children. These workshops were meant to occur whilst the organ was in Devon being restored.
Several changes were made to this plan. Firstly, it was decided that the organ should be returned to the church before the
workshops took place. This was because most teachers were not interested in visiting the church to learn about the organ when
there was no organ there.
Secondly, the Director of Music was not involved. The church had a new Director of Music by the time the organ had been
restored called Ben Atkinson. He was much less available during school hours, as he had a full time job in the week conducting
musical theatre, whereas the previous Director of Music (Matthew Fletcher) was a freelance musician and thus could be
available with adequate notice.
In agreement with the HLF, I developed a new plan, utilising Now Press Play, and the church’s Children’s Music Co-ordinator and
Organ Scholar.
Now Press Play is an award winning educational organisation. They deliver interactive learning experiences utilising wireless
headphones. Children put on the headphones, and move about the space following the instructions they hear spoken by a
narrator of an interactive story. I asked them to deliver their ‘slave’ experience, where children experienced what it was like to
have been a slave during the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The experience is as follows:
 live the life story of Olaudah Equiano
 travel on a slave ship from Africa to America
 work the cotton fields of South Caroline, America
 escape to freedom with Harriet Tubman
 meet William Wilberforce and help him abolish slavery
Olaudah Equiano was a famous slave whose prominent memoir influenced the abolition of the slave trade in the UK.
The children took part in these workshops, which were followed by a discussion about slavery and the themes involved. After
this, the group went over to the organ, where the Children’s Music Co-ordinator, Laurel Neighbour, led them through singing
‘Let My People Go’, a prominent slave song. She explained that they would be ‘singing with the organ as William Wilberforce
had done 200 years ago’. The organ was originally located at Holy Trinity Clapham, at the same time when William Wilberforce
worshipped there whilst he was formulating the British government’s plans to abolish slavery with the ‘Clapham Sect’.
The organ was played by the church’s Organ Scholar, Daniel Marx, who also answered any questions and developed the themes
prior to the workshops commencing. He performed this role as a volunteer. The majority of these workshops were held in
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting HLF
aims
School visits
Shorter visits,
approximately 45
minutes in
length, with a
focus on both the
music of the
organ and its links
to international
history (anti-
slavery
movement) and
local history
School children at
Key Stage 2 and 3
Approximately 30
students per visit.
Estimated
participants :
500
Ties in with
non-music
curriculum
subjects, such
as history,
religious
education and
sociology
Director of
Music
Teachers,
classroom
assistant and
parents
Activities
Manager
Volunteer
presenters
Educational
packs
Director of
music
10 visits @
£150 per visit :
£1500
Volunteer
expenses :
£200
September
2012 to July
2014
Enhancing
curriculum
teaching
Positive
feedback
Feedback sheets
from pupils and
staff
Schools wish to
participate for a
second year
Learning

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October 2013, which is Black History Month. This falls into the stated Activities Plan schedule of occurring between September
2012 and July 2014.
Children from St Paul’s School, Hammersmith
In the end, 11 groups visited, totalling 320 children, from Fox, Colville and St Paul’s Hammersmith primary schools. The length of
each workshops was double that which was stipulated in the Activities Plan, from 45 minutes to 90 minutes, and the workshops
contained two distinct elements, which meant that the children effectively took part in two separate workshops. I designed it in
this way so that we could meet the 500 participants target in the Activities Plan (despite not having enough funding) – we had
320 children attending on these days, but they effectively engaged in twice as much activity as originally stipulated, in two
different workshops, which brings that number to 640.
It was great success, and I felt that the new plan of involving Now Press Play was far superior than that which was submitted to
the HLF in the Activities Plan. Now Press Play have maintained links with several of the schools, and were ‘Big Venture
Challenge’ winners in 2014 – they continue to go from strength to strength.
Teachers were very enthusiastic for the children to learn about this subject matter in this way (with the headphones), and it was
relatively easy to get schools to participate because of this. The children went away with a good understanding of the history of
slavery, and an understanding of how it connected to the organ. Fox and Colville primary schools are within short walking
distance of the church, and both schools visited the church again after these workshops. Strong links have been developed with
these schools, increasing community cohesion.
School Visits Feedback
I have included feedback from teachers below (received via email, which I have included in a separate attachment with the
Completion Report). I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, and in blue to show community spirit.
From Shelley Lawrence, teacher with St Paul’s Hammersmith Primary School:
1. Do you think the workshop was worthwhile for your students, and would you bring them to visit again?
I thought the workshop was very worthwhile and I would defiantly bring them back.
2. Did the topics tie in with the curriculum sufficiently well?
The topic fitted really well with our Black History Month celebration
3. Do you think the technical terms/language used were suitable for the children?
I brought my Year 6 class and I thought the language was suitable for the children. I also think it the pace of the talk was really
good as it allowed the children to really understand and digest what was happening.
4. Did the link between the slavery workshops and the organ segment make sense?
Yes, my class find it really difficult to focus on a single subject matter for a long period of time so it was really nice for them to do
both.
5. What do you regard as the best parts for your children?
I thought the best part was the children listening to and having to respond to the story about slavery. Every single child was
engaged and focused.

14
6. Can you suggest any changes/additions to the workshops to improve them?
Perhaps something for the children to watch beforehand to set the scene of where they were.
7. Any other comments
Thank you so much for allowing us to come along to the workshop the children were really engaged and enthused by what they
saw and heard.
From Hannah Rickman, teacher with Fox Primary School:
Thought the both the now press play and the organ workshop were very worthwhile. The children were extremely engaged and
learnt a lot from the experience.
Excellent link to black history week.
3. Do you think the technical terms/language used were suitable for the children?
All new language was introduced and explained very clearly.
4. Did the link between the slavery workshops and the organ segment make sense?
It was a slightly tenuous link but I don’t think that mattered.
They loved the interactivity of the headsets and really got involved in acting out the part of a slave. They were also fascinated by
the organ.
6. Can you suggest any changes/additions to the workshops to improve them?
Do more! We would love to come and visit again we just need to work out some curriculum links. We do study the Windrush
and immigration to Britain (especially London) after WWII which could link with Notting Hill Carnival and the local area.
Otherwise I’m sure our music coordinator would love to bring classes to learn more about the technical side of the organ and
have a chance to play and sing along with it.
I thought both the ladies running the workshops were excellent and were very skilled at managing large groups of children as
well as teaching them new information.
From Emma Stiman, Teacher at Colville School
Yes, they really enjoyed it. I liked the way it used drama to actively get them involved. It helped them to absorb information
through allowing them to have empathy with the situation.
It was fantastic for them to experience an organ performance and the fact that this organ has historical significance linking to
Black History Month is particularly potent.
We don't actually study a unit of Black History although it is tied in to the curriculum in a more broad way. However, I like the
integration of music and drama.
3. Do you think the technical terms/language used was suitable for the children?
Yes, perfect level of language for their age group.
I think it was all good
4. Can you suggest and changes/additions to the workshops to improve them?
Yes - I think I would enjoy seeing the songs integrated in some way in to the interactive headphone workshop thus directly

15
combining singing with the drama. Sounds ambitious I know, but it would be fab! Also when singing a song like 'Go down
Moses', it would be useful for children to know the context of the song (something that I chipped in) and why they sang these
sorts of songs - they were workers songs which helped to boost their morale when working on plantations, etc...
Thank you for inviting us. We really enjoyed it (me too)
As you can see from the above, the workshops were positively received by the teachers involved.

16
Activity 4: Post Restoration Workshops
I have evaluated Activity 4 before Activity 3, because the school workshops detailed in Activity 4 occurred chronologically earlier
in the project than those in Activity 3.
“[These workshops were] really good at teaching the children about their local cultural heritage.“ Ellie Hardisty, Teacher at Fox
Primary School
This is taken from page 41 of our Activities Plan:
Following on from the 6 pre-restoration workshops, 6 post-restoration workshops should have taken place (see table above),
when the children who had experienced that organ in its poor condition could see and hear it again once it was restored.
However, due to the delay in completing the organ restoration, most of the children who had previously participated had
moved on from their schools. A new plan was therefore devised. The children would visit to learn about how the organ emulates
the instruments of the orchestra. We would achieve this by having an orchestra present for the children to listen to, with
comparisons between the instruments and the stops of the organ. The children would also rehearse a choral piece of music, to
sing with the orchestra and organ, which their parents would come and listen to at the end of the day. This enabled us to fulfil
the ‘Children’s Choir’ requirement in the bid (see page 58). The piece of music was called ‘Wishes’, composed by Kate Whitley, a
talented young composer and recent university graduate.
7 groups of children visited, with 200 children, on two separate days. 50 adults attended the concerts at the end of both days.
This was more than the 180 number stipulated in our submitted Activities Plan. It would have totalled 30 more had another
group not dropped out on the day of the event. Children visited from Thomas Jones, St Francis of Assisi, Colville, Avondale, and
Fox primary schools.
Children from St Francis of Assisi, Thomas Jones and Avondale Primary Schools.
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience
(s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Post Restoration
Workshops
With the organ
restored and
returned to St
Johns, these
workshops give
students the chance
to see the organ
within in its new
case, the exhibition
and view the film.
Workshops will
conclude with
public performance
School
children from
6 different
schools from
all Key Stages
1 to 4
Estimated
number :
180
Completes the
educational
experience for
the students
Director of
Music to act as
Animateur
Activities
Manager
Teachers,
classroom
assistants &
parents
Volunteers to
assist with
management of
workshop
Prizes
Director of
Music:
6 workshops
@ £150 per
workshop =
£900
Volunteers
expenses: £200
June & July
2013
Public
performances
Audience
reactions
Student
satisfaction
Feedback forms
for pupils and
staff
Audience
reaction at
public
performances
Learning &
Participation

17
Children from Fox and Colville schools sing with the orchestra and organ
We had three volunteers present at these workshops, acting as stewards and guiding the children to their places.
School feedback
I have included the feedback from teachers below, which was collected via email (See teacher feedback document with
Completion report).
I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, in green where children have discovered organs for the first
time, and in blue to show community spirit.
Feedback from Tommy Towers of Thomas Jones School:
Do you think your children's knowledge of organs has increased after taking part in these workshops?
Yes
How do you think they could be improved?
Get the children up to have a closer look at the organ
Beyond St John's, do you think your children have experienced an organ before?
Some may have done but the majority would not have
Do you feel that these events contribute to a stronger feeling of local community?
Definitely - the more there are the better, it's so good for the children to experience these things so close to where they live.
Did your children enjoy themselves?
Very much
Do you think this is a good use of Lottery money?
Anything that promotes music with children is a good use of money
Would you be interested in coming to future organ-related events at St John's?
Yes
From Ellie Hardisty of Fox Primary School:
Yes, they particularly enjoyed seeing the individual pipes in action. However, it might have been nice to have groups at a time
actually come up to the organ to have a look at the stops, pedals and keyboards.

18
We attend a lot of concerts and have a school orchestra, so although it was lovely to have the additional instrumentalists, you
could probably have just spend time focusing on the organ - as this is the instrument they know the least about.
Probably not.
Yes, it was lovely to go on a local trip that was walkable from school!
Yes - after a school day meant some found it hard to concentrate. Perhaps a workshop earlier in the day would make it easier?
Yes, really good at teaching the children about their local cultural heritage.
Definitely - as long as there was more organ!
From Jane Butterworth of St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School
Yep, they know how many pipes and different sounds now
Very good workshop - varied activities and well paced
Yes, a lot of children attend church weekly - we are a Catholic school
yes, nice to be at a concert with other local schools
yes
yes
yes please - would love something for younger children if possible
These workshops were sufficiently different in nature to the other school elements in the project, therefore schools were happy
to attend. Having the full orchestra worked as a great pull to bring in the teachers and school children, and really brought to life
how the organ sounded like the different instruments. However, finding a time slot that worked for the schools was hard, even
after a lot of attempted consulting with teachers – they did not often respond, as seemed to frequently be the case. In the end,
we held one group after school, and one within school hours, following the teachers’ advice. It eventually transpired that most
teachers would have preferred for the workshops to happen within school time, something that was noted for the rest of the
school workshops I arranged.
There were pros and cons for having the children in two groups of 100 on each day, which are highlighted in the feedback from
teachers:
Main pros:
 It was possible to have a full orchestra present – it would be too expensive to have an orchestra at many workshops for
individual classes.
 The children were able to sing in a bigger choir at the end.
 The children met other school children from nearby schools, which added to a sense of community.

19
Main cons:
 All of the children did not have the opportunity for questions and for fully scrutinising the organ. A few teachers
commented in their feedback that it would be good if they could have spent more time with the organ.
 The orchestra was expensive.
I felt both of these cons were mitigated for the following reasons:
 The presence of a full orchestra was a big draw for schools. For every round of school workshops we put on, it was
necessary to come up with a prospect that excited the teachers, otherwise it would be difficult to get the schools to
attend.
 All these children would have the opportunity, should the teachers wish, to attend the workshops for much smaller
groups (described under the next heading in this report, page 20), which involved a great deal of organ interaction –
many teachers did indeed take up this opportunity, and these orchestra workshops therefore added as a great ‘lead-in’
to the next workshops. This helped because it enabled us to fulfil the school attendance numbers shown in the
Activities Plan.
 The full orchestra added a great deal to the children’s understanding in how the organ emulates the sounds of the
instrument, and the cost was all within budget.
 Singing with the orchestra and organ was a unique experience for many children
All three teachers also state in their feedback that they would be very happy to attend future workshops. This was positive,
however the reality reflected the difficulty in dealing with schools. Fox Primary school did attend more workshops. St Francis of
Assisi had a change of teacher, and therefore were not prepared to attend more workshops until they felt more settled with the
new teacher. Thomas Jones school had booked in a workshop in the next round, but cancelled a week before it was meant to
take place.

20
Activity 3: Schools Workshops with Organ Model
“Children firstly learned what an organ was- on the morning of the trip when we asked the children, only two of the class knew!”
Lee MacMannus, school teacher
This is taken from page 40 of our Activities Plan:
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience (s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in
Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Schools
Projects
A range of
educational
projects, tailored
for each Key
Stage, based
around the Build
an Organ
concept.
Second series of
workshops in
next academic
year (2013/14)
School children
from 6
different
schools from all
Key Stages 1 to
4
Approximately
30 students per
visit x 2 years
Estimated
number of
participants :
360
Meets national
curriculum in
different
areas.
Introduces
pupils to the
world of the
organ and
provides a
unique
opportunity
to learn about
the organ and
compose
music for the
organ with a
future
performance
in St John’s
Church
Workshop
leaders/Animateurs
Teachers, assistants
& parents
Activities Manager
Volunteers to assist
with management of
workshops
Educational Packs
Activity equipment
costs (hired)
Animateurs :
12 @ £300
per session
(including
travel, prep
time, etc) x 2
years : £7200
Educational
packs: Design
and Print
£3000
Equipment
hire:
£2500
Volunteer
expenses :
£200
Primary schools –
July 2012
Secondary schools –
September/October
2012 or January 2013
Repeat programme
September/October
2013
Positive
feedback.
Original
compositions
from each
group
All projects
completed
Feedback
sheets for
pupils and
staff.
Schools wish
to participate
for a second
year
Learning &
Participation
Using organ models, children would learn about the use of the organ and its constituent parts. Pre-visit education packs and
animations were created for the church and available to schools before they visited – I have included the education pack with
the Completion Report, and the animation is available on the website www.stjohnsorganproject.com/schools.
In the original submitted Activities Plan, equipment would be hired for these workshops, and used to show the children how
organ’s worked. We delivered 2 workshops in this way in July 2012, hiring the WOOFYT (Wooden One-octave Organ For Young
Technologists) and an education animateur to deliver the workshops. 4 school groups from St Thomas’ Primary School visited to
take part in these workshops, totalling 120 children.
After seeing how these worked, we decided that we would use the budgeted amount of £2,500 for hiring equipment to
commission a member of the organ builder team to build for us our own organ model, using similar materials and processes
used in restoring the organ. This allows the church to continue to put on these organ workshops into the future, without
needing to hire the equipment each time. I have recommended to the church that they should include as part of either the
Director of Music or the Organ Scholar’s duties the delivering of further school workshops each year. The option is certainly
available to them to be able to put on workshops indefinitely, now that they own this equipment.
Organ model – pump, bellows and pipes on a soundboard.

21
In January – May 2015, 12 school classes with approximately 30 children in each class, totalling 360 children, visited for
workshops using this organ model. Including the 120 children who had already visited for WOOFYT workshops, the total visiting
for these organ model workshops was therefore 480, which is more than the 360 stipulated in our Activities Plan.
These 12 classes (this should have been 13 - one group cancelled during the week beforehand) is half the number stipulated in
the Activities Plan. However, these classes were split into two groups for the majority of the 70-minute-long workshops: 15
children used the organ model, under the direction of the Activities Manager and a volunteer, whilst the other 15 children were
able to experience the organ up close with the Director of Music, Tom Primrose. The group would come together for 10 minutes
at the beginning and end of the workshops. Much like the Now Press Play workshops, this effectively allowed us to have 24
groups take part in these organ-model activities.
The structure of the workshops were as follows.
For the first 10 minutes, the children would sit in front of the organ, in order to gain a general impression about organs and how
they work. This was delivered by the Director of Music. Pipes made of different materials were handed out to the children, and
and it was explained how the organ produces different sounds for different moods. Lots of musical terminology was learned
during this time.
Children from Ashburnham School inspect different pipes at the beginning of the workshops, and learn about how they work
Children from Bassett House School and St Barnabas & St Philips at the beginning of the workshops

22
The children were then split into two groups, with 15 going off to use the organ model with the Activities Manager, and 15
remaining behind with the Director of Music for a closer look at the organ.
Those who were using the organ model were firstly asked to describe it. They learned how organs worked, and what powered
them. They learned about the three most important different components and what they did: the blower, the bellows, and the
pipes. This taught them how wind passed around the organ. They learned that it was produced by the pump, which they each
had a go at using. They were informed that all organs were powered by hand pumps when this organ was made, whereas today,
electricity is used to power a fan.
They learned that the bellows stored the wind at a constant pressure, and they saw for themselves how weight applied to the
bellows (in the form of sandbags) would increase the pressure of the wind in the pipes.
They learned about the pitch of the pipes, and how it is related to the size – the bigger the pipe, the lower pitch.
To put what they had learned into practise, they were given a pipe each from a full chromatic octave set (C to C1 going up in
semitones). The children stood in a line in size order, and each blew into the pipe one after the other. From this, they could hear
the pitch descending and ascending in semi-tones, showing them that the largest pipe produces the lowest pitch and the
smallest pipe produce the highest. They also understood for themselves how blowing into the pipe with too little or too much
pressure would distort the sound.
Children from Ashburnham School stand in line and blow into a set of pipes
They then had to perform this on the model organ: each child stood in front of one pipe, and the group played the pipes, going
up and down in pitch. This was more challenging that it sounds, and there was a real sense of achievement when the children
managed it.
Children from Ashburnham School use the organ model

23
~Chidlren use
Children from Ashburnham School use the organ model
The children could feel the wind in the organ by taking the pipes out of the organ model, and putting their hands over the
vacant valves. These organ models allowed some of the older children to learn about pitch and tuning - the pipes could each be
tuned using the stoppers on top.
At the end of these workshop, children could ask any questions they had. They would then move onto the main organ, and
applied the knowledge that had learned to the real instrument – or vice versa. They were able to see inside the organ via the
glass panels, with the inner parts illuminated by LEDs. These inner parts include the bellows and the pipes. They were able to sit
at the console, all the while asking the Director of Music questions.
Children from Ashburnham School (clockwise from top left): at the organ console; learning using the organ model at the back of
the organ; standing by the side of the organ and look into the glass; look at the organ stops.
At the end of the workshop, the two groups were reunited, and the Director of Music gave a recap. He discussed how the
different sounds of the pipes emulated the different instruments in the orchestra. He explained that to do this, the pipes were
constructed of different materials. He described how this contributed to different moods in pieces of music – some pipes are
softer, some are triumphant-sounding, and so on.

24
This was all followed by a performance of a piece of music, when the children would listen out for everything they had learned –
pitch, size of pipe, what the pipewas made of, whether it was a reed/diapason/flue, and what emotions they sensed in the piece
of muisc. The children were able to walk around the organ whilst the piece was played.
Children from St Barnabas & St Philips and Ashburnham schools at the end of the workshops
Children visited from 7 different primary schools: Fox, Hallfield, Ashburnham, St Barnabas & St Phillips, St Thomas, Norland Place
and Basset House. We had a volunteer at each workshop, assisting with the organ model element. This involved helping with the
pump, handing out the pipes, and leading the children in some of the activities using the model.
Throughout these workshops, the history of the organ was discussed with the children.
Organ Model School Workshops feedback:
I have included feedback from the schools below, which was taken via email and is shown in the attachment for feedback from
schools. I have highlighted where I think they show that learning has taken place.
I have highlighted in yellow where new learning has taken place, in green where children have discovered organs for the first
time, and in blue to show community spirit.
Feedback from Linda Illsley, Norland Place School:
Thank you all so much for the excellent organ workshops which you provided for our Year 2 pupils this term. The pupils
absolutely loved the workshops and I’m so pleased that two whole classes of children have been so thoroughly musically
inspired.
The workshops were very well planned and delivered. The Project Pack which you sent us beforehand was very useful and we
were able to use it to prepare so that the children could get the best out of the workshops once they were at the church. Both
you and Mr Primrose were really focused and engaging in speaking with the children using great questioning and age-
appropriate vocabulary. The activities which you had planned were perfect for the children. They loved being able to touch
individual pipes from the organ and to operate the model organ. The model organ upstairs and the mini organ at the back of the
pipe organ were really thoughtfully designed and using these helped the children to really grasp how the organ works, and it
was so great for the children to be able to play them so practically. As a Music teacher, I really appreciated how you used the
organ and its parts to help the children to understand changes between pitch, dynamics and timbre, connecting these with the
children’s learning about other instruments. It was fantastic that the children got to hear so much music and musical sounds in
the session, and they loved being surrounded by that amazing sound. The children also enjoyed learning about the historical
aspects of the organ and its place in local history, and your animation and Project Pack helped me to go through this with them
before the workshop. On top of all the excellent learning which the children gained in terms of musical elements and getting to
know the workings of the pipe organ, the workshop really got them excited about what’s possible with this majestic instrument,
and I think this sense of wonder and excitement about the organ will stay with them for a long time.

25
Alice Hyland, St Barnabas and St Phillips Primary School:
What do you think was good about them?
They were fascinated by the mechanics of the organ. It worked well splitting them into two smaller groups so that they could
get a closer look. Really great having hands on activities - hand pipes engaging activity. Good length of time to keep their focus.
What could be improved?
What new things do you think the children have learned?
I think the children are more aware of how different pitches are made on the organ. I think also they were not aware that the
different pipes sound like instruments.
Other comments.
Thank you very much for hosting us. The class teachers have been recommending it to other year groups so you may hear from
us shortly!
Alexandra Bagge, Fox Primary School:
In response to your questions:
The children really enjoyed learning about the history of the organ and were engaged throughout the workshop. It was great for
the children to see the mechanics of the organ working as it was being played. I thought the interactive activity was a great way
for the children to physically experience how an organ works. The children learnt about the history of the organ, how it works
and music appreciation. There could have been a bit more on the science behind it with regards to how sound travels. However,
this was touched upon when instruments vibrating was discussed.
Mark Lister, Basset House School:
Many thanks for inviting us to your workshop.
The workshop was very informative and clearly presented. The children were highly involved with discussions and enjoyed
hands on experience.
The pace was fine with positive interaction.
The children were able to learn how an organ is restored and how it works.
Lee MacMannus, St Thomas’ Primary School
What do you think was good about these workshops?
Children got to see various pipes up-close, hands on session with the model organ. The children really enjoyed listening to the
organ being played! The workshop staff were very knowledgeable on the subject, and there were good cross-curricular links to
science and materials.
What could be improved?
Was too technical on the vocabulary and knowledge side for KS1, but would have been appropriate for upper KS2. Could have
used simpler language and possibly use pictures of instruments if comparing sounds of various pipes to instruments.
What new things do you think the children have learned?
Children firstly learned what an organ was- on the morning of the trip when we asked the children, only two of the class knew!
They also learnt about the idea of an organ having various sounds (timbres) as opposed to just pitch and dynamics.
Other comments
A little more thought to transitions when working with younger students, this will help them keep focus. Teachers are usually
more than happy to help with this- but it can be difficult for us if we are not entirely sure on what is about to happen.

26
Feedback from Norland Place School Children
“My favourite thing about the pipes organ is that it can different sounds. I really enjoyed it when the organist played us a piece.
The organist was called Mr Primrose. I loved the school trip.”
Norland Place School sent us feedback from their children, which I have included as an attachment with the Completion Report.
The feedback included a sentence about their visit and a drawn picture of the organ. I have typed out the feedback below (I
have corrected some of the English, and left it blank when I cannot read it). You can see that it is very positive, and that lots of
learning has taken place:
I learned that there was a person who used pump up organ and it normally was a naughty choir boy or girl but that was only in
the past. I did not know that an organ has stop which when you press it will turn into a different instrument. My favourite thing
is you can make lots of sounds.
The organ in………. it could if you pulled the bottom stops it made all the keys that you get on one keyboard makes the same
keys on all the keyboards.
It was amazing I loved it when he pulled a stop and it made the keys work like magic. It was cool when he pressed a pedal and
some stops came out. I got to pump air in the bellow. We were very well behaved as he played us a piece. It was the best trip
ever.
My favourite part was when the organist played a song and we got to go around. I loved the model organ. In St John’s church
there are lots and lots of pipes on the organ.
We went to the pipe organ at St John’s Church. I loved the pipe organ. I learned that the bellows keep the air in.
I learnt that when the bellows fill up with air, it makes the sound. I really enjoyed it when Mr Primrose played a bit of Bach. On
an organ, there are stops, which change the sound. I loved the trip so much I could hug it.
My favourite thing about the organ is the pipes because like the sound they make. I found out that when you play the model at
the same time then it does not sound very nice.
I learned that there are ………….. air in the pipe. I really enjoyed when Mr Primrose. We found out that there was a model organ
on the back of the organ.
I really enjoyed when the organist played the organ. My favourite thing about the pipe organ is that the stop.
I really enjoyed it when we got to play with the model organ. I learned that the organ has more than a hundred pipes.
I learned that the organ was so big. I really enjoyed when he played …… we found out that it has so many pipes.
I learnt that the model of the organ behind the real organ when you pull the lever to make a sound when someone is playing
you can’t because it used the same air. My favourite thing was when you play the organ then the air comes out of the pipes and
it goes toot toot.
We found out that there are over a thousand pipes in the organ. My favourite thing is when the organist played the organ for us.
I learned that the feeder used to be a naught choir by.
My favourite thing was the …. Pipe organ. My pipe was the highest pipe. My second favourite thing was the model organ.
I learned that the organ has more than 1000 pipes. I really enjoyed it when the organist played the organ. My favourite thing
about the organ is the pipes. We found out that we were the first people to play the model organ properly.
I enjoyed playing with the model pipe organ. We saw the different parts of the pipe organ light up. I found out that organs had
weight on them. The naughty choir boy had to be a feeder. I love the pipe organ. The soundboard and the bellow moved.
I learned that in the olden days a ……. Person pushed the feeder. My favourite thing about the organ is the pipes. I really
enjoyed it when someone played the organ.
I loved my trip to St John’s Church! I learned that the bellows keep less of air so they go to the pipes and they have over 2000
pipes. I learned that the soundboard makes sure that everything goes to the right one.

27
I learned that in the olden days they worked the bellows by hand and now we use electricity today. My favourite thing in the trip
was the bellows.
I learned that the organ do not have to have bellows. I liked playing the pipes. I also learnt about the pedals which were low and
keys were high.
I really enjoyed it when we got to play with the model. I also found out that the organ had over 1000 pipes. The organ we saw
had 3 keyboards.
I learned that when the bellow fills up with air when the organist presses a note the bellows loses all the air. I really enjoyed it
when My Primrose played the organ. I liked it when we got to play the models of the pipes each.
My favourite thing about the pipes organ is that it can different sounds. I really enjoyed it when the organist played us a piece.
The organist was called Mr Primrose. I loved the school trip.
We went to St John’s organ it was fun. They told us that………uses a fan.
On our trip we had a lot of fun. I learnt a lot. One of the things I leaned was why the key all did it at one.
First we ……. About the organ then we went up stairs. We blew through pipes. Then we played a fake organ.
On the 12th
of May we went to see St John’s organ. In the gallery, there was a mini organ! It was a pipe organ. We saw the
bellow!! I loved the St John’s organ workshop trip! FANTASTIC!
First, we went to meet the organist. Then we had to answer some questions. After we had to go in to groups. In one of the
groups we had to play some pretend pipes. And the other group got to see the pipes.
We went to St John’s Church. We had learned what were the different parts of an organ such as pipes, pedals, bellows,
keyboard, feeder and soundboard. There were more than 2,015 pipes or something like that.
We went to St John’s trip …….organ….it was funny on the way… Sound echoed…………
My favourite part was when we got to play on model organ. I was really…… I really enjoyed hearing to some music from the
organ.
We saw an organist. We found out the organ has 26 pipes one ……..
Firstly we saw down on wood benches when we met some people. After that we were tested on some instruments. Then we
split up into groups and did some things about organs then we switched.
A few days ago we visited St John’s and saw a huge pipe organ which had 2,536 pipes.
Three days ago we went to an organ workshop and saw an organ and there were twenty three pipes on the front. After we did
go to the feeder the bellows and the pipes.
On Monday it went to a church on that trip we saw an organ. We do to see the bellows. We found out that you can press one
keyboard and press the pedals.
The rest of my class went to St John’s Church to see the organ. I have absolutely no idea what they did but they told me some
things and I will try to test them: they played mini organs, and got to check out the pipes. (It was fun?)
On our trip I learned that the pipe organ was very loud and it made a very ……. Sound. We saw how the pipe organ worked. I
loved the trip.
First we sat on some benches and we listened to some facts about the organ and it was huge. I felt a bit wriggly but soon we got
moving. We took turns to do different activities. I really enjoyed when the bellow went up and down.
We went to St John’s church to see an organ. We looked at the. We went upstairs to pretend to be an organ. the one in St John’s
has two thousand and thirty three pipes.
On my trip to St John’s organ I learned that the organ can make lots of different sounds. I really enjoyed it when we saw the
bellows blowing up and what happens when the organ is switched off.

28
We saw the ….. pipe-organ. I really enjoyed it and it was massive. There were more than 240 pipes.
First we went to see the organ. My favourite thing about the organ was the feeder. I really enjoyed when it played.
On my trip we went to a organ and we there was a man. That told us about the organ, Then we went upstairs where an organ.
After that we went back to school.
At St Johns Organ workshop we learned that there are buttons that you pull and they are called stops. I really enjoyed when he
pulled the stop and played it and the top one played on its own.
A selection of drawings:

29
Schools Conclusion
Over the course of the project, 14 schools visited:
 Sion Manning Secondary
 St Peter’s Notting Hill Nursery School
 Fox Primary
 Colville Primary
 Avondale Primary
 Thomas Jones Primary
 Ashburnahm Primary
 Hallfield Primary
 St Barnabas & St Phillips Primary
 St Thomas Primary
 St Francis of Assisi
 St Paul’s Hammsersmith
 Norland Place
 Bassett House
This represents 11 state-maintained schools, 2 fee-paying schools and 1 nursery. 11 out of the 14 schools are within a 15 minute
walking radius to the church, and 3 have subsequently visited again for non-organ related activities (hiring the church for school
events, and visiting to learn about Christianity in the local community). Strong links have been built with all schools, many of
which have indicated that they will visit again in future. The church is able to provide workshops into the future as it owns
workshops packs and organ models to facilitate this. I will advise the church that it should be part of the Organ Scholar’s duties
to deliver a series of workshops each year, in order for the workshops to continue.
The schools represent a broad range of social background. Here are examples taken from various school’s most recent Ofsted
reports:
Ashburnham
Information about this school
 The school is smaller than the average-sized primary school.
 The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for pupil premium funding is much higher than usual. This is additional
funding provided by the government to support pupils entitled to free school meals, pupils who are looked after by the
local authority and pupils with a parent or carer in the armed services.
 The proportion of disabled pupils and those who have special educational needs supported at school action is higher
than the national average, as is the proportion of those pupils who are supported at school action plus or with a
statement of special educational needs.
 The proportions of pupils from minority ethnic groups and of those who speak English as an additional language are
higher than the national average.
 In 2012, the school did not meet the government’s floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’
attainment and progress.
 There has been significant disruption to school leadership since the previous inspection and the school is currently led
by an executive headteacher under a ‘soft’ federation with another local primary school. Under this arrangement, staff
from both school work together to share expertise and resources to improve the education for pupils.
Ashburnham happens to partner Fox primary school, a school that has regularly visited to take part in organ workshops here
(they took part in all workshops we offered), and they are considered to be a very successful, high-achieving school. This is taken
from their most recent Ofsted report:
Fox Primary
Information about the school
Fox Primary is a large school that has twice the national average of pupils from minority ethnic backgrounds and those for whom
English is not the home language. The proportion of pupils who have a statement for their special educational needs and/or
disabilities is above average, although the overall proportion of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities is below
average. These figures change markedly from year to year. The proportion of pupils who join or leave the school at times other
than in Reception or Year 6 is higher than the national average. The school has several awards for its curriculum including
Activemark, Artsmark, Healthy Schools and the Quality Mark.

30
Thomas Jones School
Description of the school
This average sized primary school serves a culturally and linguistically diverse community. Two thirds of pupils use English as an
additional language, and one third of these speak Arabic as their first language. Over half of the pupils are entitled to free school
meals. The proportion of pupils who experience learning difficulties and/or disabilities is slightly below the national average.
These include issues relating to social and emotional problems, and specific learning difficulties. Children start Nursery at the
age of three and a half. Most transfer into the adjoining Reception class after one year in the Nursery. It is believed that the
school is named after Thomas Jones, born in North Carolina in 1806. A passionate critic of slavery, Thomas Jones obtained a
rudimentary education, and used his skills to emancipate his own children.
Hallfield Primary School
 The school is much larger than the average-sized primary school. There are three classes in each year group from
Reception to Year 6, and 78 full-time places in Nursery.
 The school has unusually extensive landscaped grounds, including a vegetable garden.
 The overwhelming majority of pupils are from a wide range of ethnic backgrounds. Pupils from Kurdish, Iraqi and mixed
heritage make up the largest groups in the school.
 The proportion of pupils who speak English as an additional language is much higher than average. Most are at the very
early stages of learning English when they join the school.
 The proportion of pupils known to be eligible for the pupil premium (funding for pupils known to be eligible for free
school meals, from forces families and looked-after children) is significantly above average.
 The number of pupils who join or leave the school other than at the usual time is significantly higher than average and
is rapidly increasing.
 The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs supported through school action is slightly
above average. The proportion supported at school action plus or with a statement of special educational needs is
slightly below average.
 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations
St Barnabas & St Philips:
Description of the school
St Barnabas and St Philip's CE Primary School is a Voluntary Aided Church of England school serving a socially and economically
diverse community in central London. The school is highly oversubscribed. Attainment on entry to the school is variable but is
broadly in line with national expectations. The proportion of pupils entitled to free school meals is above the national average.
The percentage of pupils from minority ethnic heritages is very high. English is an additional language for 47 per cent of pupils,
which is a very high proportion. The school has identified 10 per cent of pupils as having learning difficulties and disabilities, a
figure well below the national average.
St Thomas
 St Thomas’ is an average-sized primary school. It is a voluntary-aided Church of England primary school. There is one
class in each year group from Nursery to Year 6. Children in the Nursery class attend full time.
 Three quarters of the pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds. This proportion is well above average. The main
groups are Black Caribbean, Black African, any other mixed background and any other ethnic group. The school has
identified a small, but significant, group of pupils from Moroccan backgrounds. Just under half of the pupils speak
English as an additional language.
 The proportion of disabled pupils or those who have special educational needs is slightly above average. In 2014, five
pupils had a statement of special educational needs.
 Disadvantaged pupils make up almost two thirds of those on roll. This proportion is well above the national average.
 The school meets the government’s current floor standard, which sets the minimum expectation for pupils’ attainment
and progress.

31
Avondale School
 Avondale Park is larger than the average primary school.
 Over two thirds of pupils are known to be eligible for support through Pupil Premium funding, and this proportion is
higher than usual.
 Most pupils come from a wide range of minority ethnic heritages, and around two out of three speak English as an
additional language.
 The proportion of pupils who are supported by school action plus or have a statement of special educational needs is
higher than usual. The proportion of disabled pupils and those with special educational needs that are supported by
school action is a little below average.
 More pupils leave or join the school part-way through their school career than is usual.
 The school meets the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’
attainment and progress.
This selection of school Ofsted reports broadly reflects all of the schools that visited, except for the two fee-paying schools. They
show the diversity found in schools in this area, where most schools have well above the national average for pupils who English
is not their first language, from diverse backgrounds, and pupils who require free school meals. Around a third of the state-
maintained schools are high achieving, whilst the other two thirds are average or below average. We were delighted to have all
these students from different back grounds visit the organ.
Total numbers visiting
In total, approximately 1,065 children visited, with a further 200 teachers/teaching assistants/parents accompanying the classes.
This has greatly improved the reputation of the church in all areas of community, where it grows in its capacity as a hub for
activity open to all.
We also had several volunteers helping with the workshops, including helping to organise them and contact schools before they
take place, to being there on the day and delivering certain elements of the organ model workshops.

32
Activity 5: Documenting the Restoration
“The organ is very unique and therefore priceless, which was why its repairal was so important and so fascinating” Simon Hunt,
Video College young film-maker
This is taken from page 42 of the Activities Plan:
Activity
Detailed
Description
Audience
(s)
Benefits for
People
Resources
Costs in Project
Budget
Timetable
Targets &
measures of
success
Methods of
Evaluation
Meeting
HLF aims
Documenting
the Restoration
A yearlong project
to document the
removal,
restoration and
reinstallation of the
organ in partnership
with the Video
College.
Engaging young
people not in
education with the
support of
professionals.
Creating the archive
photographic
material for
permanent
exhibition about the
organ
Between 10-
15 young
people not in
education
Visitors to St
John’s for
workshops,
concerts,
organised
visits and
informal
tourists.
A global
audience
through
posting on
internet.
It is
anticipated
that in excess
of 3000
people will
view the film
in church
over a 2-year
period.
Giving young
people an
opportunity to
learn all aspects
of documentary
film making
through direct
experience and
with guidance
from
professionals.
Producing a film
for viewing by
visitors to St
Johns and
internationally
via the internet
Professional
film crew
Tutors
Volunteer
film- makers in
training
Equipment,
studio hire,
post-
production
facilities
Travel and
subsistence
Volunteer
Mentor
TOTAL: £20,948
Professional staff as
Director/Crew/Editor
and Tutor = £11,850
Studio, equipment,
reproduction = £1705
Co-ordination, post-
production, shoot costs,
etc = £ 3193
Location shoot, 3 days
+ 1 race day, travel and
accommodation
expenses = £ 2832
Photographer = £400
Sundry costs = £968
March 2012
to May 2013
Completion
of project and
production of
film to
broadcast
quality.
Audience
feedback
Number of
hits on
youtube and
other new
media sites
Judgement of
professional
film-maker
Learning &
Participation
The Video College was commissioned to create a documentary of the restoration. They work with people who are both 12+ and
18+, and have the following statement on their website:
“It doesn’t matter if your education got cut short, or you’re unemployed, or you don’t have the money for further education. All
you need is a burning desire to learn about video and we’ll do all we can to help you achieve that.”
Despite delays in the organ’s restoration, the Video College coped admirably and produced their documentary of the
restoration. This included a trip to Devon to the organ builder’s workshop for the students, as well as several filming
opportunities in the church.
The Video College recording during an organ recital and for a school workshop

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