Services For Education

It has been great to spend a couple of days at Midlands Arts Centre this week for our Winner-Up events, as part of our Music Cares project, in collaboration with Birmingham Virtual School, working with looked-after children across the City 🎶

Tuesday and Wednesday saw nearly 40 young musicians from primary and secondary schools join us for a series of workshops, including DJ skills, vocal skills and drumming.

Participants, including their accompanying adults, then took to the stage for some shared performances, including massed ensemble pieces and DJ mixing.

Although we've hosted the primary Winner-Up in previous years, this is the first time we've hosted it for secondary schools, and it was great to see everyone enjoy the sessions as their confidence grew during the day.

A big thank you to everyone involved, including MAC Makes Music and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire who supported with workshops, alongside SFE Music staff.

For more information about Music Cares, and how support it, click here 👉
https://buff.ly/0Zu8j9c

As some of you may know, last month, trustee at SFE, Oli Wilson, and his friend and brass bandmate, Nathan Groombridge, walked the length of Hadrian's Wall: 135km from East to West, in order to raise funds for us ❤️

We recently caught up with Oli to ask about his experience as part of Team SFE 🌟

🗨️ ''It was a huge physical challenge, and though very tough - especially the last two days - was frantically rewarding! The highlights included some of the most amazing views in the UK, amidst a mix of bright sunshine, strong wind and driving rain and hail! I was delighted to have Nathan's younger legs keep us both going, as by the end I felt every one of my 45 years! The support from all those who donated kept me going when it got tough - I couldn't let them or the children down.''

A huge thank you to Oli and Nathan for taking on such a brilliant challenge for us! ❤️

If you'd like to donate, you can do so here - thank you! 🙌👉 https://buff.ly/AbDtXRp

We were thrilled to be joined by both BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central at yesterday's - if you weren't able to catch us yesterday, you can watch the recordings below until 6pm this evening 🎥

Find out what we got up to and see behind-the-scenes interviews with pupils and teachers from Barford Primary, as well as SFE's Lucie Welch, and Michelin-Starred Chef, David Taylor! 🌟

ITV Central - scroll to approx. 10 minutes in 👉 https://buff.ly/m2kQSmq

BBC Midlands Today - approx. 20 minutes in 👉 https://buff.ly/Qw4Nkda

Following today's Cookathon, we have some (more!) exciting news - today we were lucky enough to be joined by both BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central, who will be airing behind the scenes content from today's event, including interviews with pupils and teachers from Barford Primary, as well as SFE's Lucie Welch, and Michelin-Starred Chef, David Taylor!

Tune into BBC Midlands Today and ITV Central at around 6pm this evening to see what we got up to, and the importance of ! 🌟

That’s a wrap on ! 🎬

We've had a brilliant day at Barford Primary, with pupils getting stuck into this year's cookathon recipe with Michelin-Starred Chef, David Taylor!

We're so proud of all of the pupils that have taken part today across the city (and further afield!) 🙌

If your school took part, be sure to share your snaps and tag us using 📸

A huge thank you to everyone involved in making today the success it was 👏

In partnership with Mondelez International 🌟

Find out more about our Health for Life programme here 👉 https://tinyurl.com/59nbrvxe

🌟

The stovetops are sizzling, and the garlic smells incredible!

Pupils at Barford Primary and over 40 additional schools are creating this year's delicious recipe: a Garlic cheese chicken with flat bread and smashed cucumber salad, created by Michelin-Starred Chef, David Taylor.

Is your school taking part in this year's ? Tag us in your snaps and use to let us know! 📸

Cookathon 2026: Let’s get cooking! 👨‍🍳👩‍🍳

The aprons are on, and the whisks are at the ready!

We're here at Barford Primary for our , with schools across the city, and further afield (including one school in Australia!) cooking along with us! 🙌

We're thrilled to be here with none other than Michelin-Starred Chef, David Taylor, this year's Cookathon chef 👨‍🍳

Is your school taking part? Tag us in your snaps and let us know 📸

The Health for Life Cookathon is run in partnership with Mondelez International 🌟

The calm before the (cooking) storm! 🌪️

We are so excited to be hosting this year’s with the incredible David Taylor tomorrow at Barford Primary! 🌟

On tomorrow’s menu:

🧄 Garlic Cheese Chicken

🫓 Fresh Flatbreads

🥗 Smashed Cucumber Salad

We’ll be posting updates throughout the day, so make sure you’re following along and tagging us in your progress! 🙌

bring joy to people of all ages and abilities 🎶❤️

Our Birmingham Inclusive Choir is a perfect example of this, bringing together children and young people under the age of 25 with disabilities.

Not only does the group bring joy to members, but also to those who get to watch them perform 🙌

Earlier this year, the group were excited to invite family, friends and other guests to their first independent Showcase event, where they got to show people what they get up to each month.

read more about the Showcase here 👉 https://buff.ly/uub9Gcc

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