MT: What are the origins of ISoM?
JF: We stem from the ‘Every Child a Musician’ (ECaM) programme (2011–19), which provided free instrumental music tuition and instruments to all primary school children in Newham. This was the brainchild of Sir Robin Wales, who wanted to be able to give kids in Newham the same opportunities ‘as those in the home counties’, as he used to say. He wanted them to have the option of being able to play a Western classical or cultural instrument. ECaM ran through all Newham primary schools and into secondary schools. When the programme ended, following political changes, Newham invested in what became ISoM, building on ECaM's foundations and the work of the Language Shop, the translation and interpretation department of the London borough and a successful public service spin-out. [Today, ISoM is partly owned by the Language Shop, which is 49% owned by the London Borough of Newham.] We then created our own exams, partnering with the London College of Music before going our own way.
Through our work, we believed in the importance of children being able to just play, to enjoy music and develop as they should. Getting up and performing was very important.
MT: Did you set out to become an exam board?
JF: No, we didn't; we didn't want to be an exam mill. But we discovered in Newham that once kids actually got their certificate, they were excited about all this; they said, ‘Wow, I can do something!’ I know that sitting an exam isn't always the answer, but for the children in Newham it was everything. That was Sir Robin Wales's aim – to build aspiration.
MT: Was this focus on performance at the expense of technical work?
JF: Not really. The first part of our assessments involves some form of technical work – often scales disguised as exercises. We didn't want candidates having to learn [many] scales. These are important, of course, but we wanted kids to enjoy playing and performing. We're not dumbing things down, but I will say that no one's getting up on an open-mic night and playing G major scale. If I do say so myself, we were the originators of just ‘setting up and playing’ in exams.
MT: So how are ISoM exams structured?
JF: There's a Default Option, in which two exercises (the Technical Work, forming 25%) and three pieces from our books must be used; a Mixed-Board Option, in which two exercises from our books (25%) plus three pieces from any accredited exam board can be used; and a Four-Piece Option involving pieces (25% each) from our books or any accredited exam board, with no separate technical work. Candidates are also free to mix and match. For example, they can choose our exercises, one piece from our books, and two pieces from other accredited boards (even different boards). The key requirement is that all pieces must be at the appropriate grade level, from an accredited board.
If someone wishes to use a piece that is not listed, or wants to submit their own composition, they must ask for our approval in advance. Our intention is that candidates and young people are actively involved in shaping the repertoire and are part of building ISoM into a more community-based examination board and education provider.
MT: Drama and other arts form part of the School of Musicians' exam offer. Why is this?
JF: I'm a primary teacher. I think primary teachers tend to see things differently from secondary school teachers, who work within specialisms. Music is my specialism too, but in primary schools you look more for that cross-curricular approach. So, if I had to cover a lesson in geography, somehow we ended up singing a song about rivers, and children would understand about the geography through the song. We actually have a nature curriculum, for ages 3–11, that we're running in Hong Kong, and the government of Costa Rica has asked us to create a syllabus for the visual arts. We work with local people when creating these, and use the creative space we're used to from primary settings.
MT: You offer Montessori Music Examinations for early years. Is this contradictory?
JF: I'm glad you asked this. Montessori Global Education actually came to us, saying they were interested in exams for early years and that our approach fitted what they were looking for. As a primary (and early years) teacher, I'd always say, ‘Come on, we can do this!’ I wanted children to achieve because once they've got something, they believe in themselves. And those first seven years are crucial, right? The more I looked into this, and the more I read about Montessori, I realised that I taught like a Montessori teacher or ‘guide’. And our exams fitted, even if Montessori isn't traditionally about formal tests.
