Secondary Music Teacher of the Year
Announced this morning on
Classic FM Breakfast
Mr Drake, Director of Music at
The Winston Churchill School
Congratulations!
The nomination:
Words that describe Chris Drake are, inspirational, driven and
relentless in the pursuit of opportunities for young people. I appointed Chris
as Director of Music in 2014. The music department was abysmal, hardly anyone
participated, the equipment/rooms were in a terrible state, the curriculum was
mediocre and the small staff team needed inspiration.
Given the state of the department, Chris needed some
encouragement to take the role. However, from the moment he walked through the
door the culture in the music department changed, staff had someone they could
believe in, who has an unrivalled passion for teaching young people how to make
music and valuing music in their lives.
Under his leadership, we have the highest performing music department in a comprehensive school in Surrey, the largest number of participants the greatest range of music-making activities and unrivalled numbers taking GCSE & music technology. Staff and students are empowered by him to be the best that they can be and to push the boundaries, into terms of what can be achieved within our secondary setting to produce music at the highest level.
Chris arranges the music for performances so that it can be achieved by new learners and can stretch the more experienced. He wants all children who belong to the Winston family to belong to the music family, supporting and encouraging each other to grow and take music with them into their future lives. Chris has also focused on our disadvantages children (20% of our cohort) providing free instruments & free lessons, resulting in young people forming bands and taking their place in our ever growing orchestra.
I burst with pride at the concerts, recitals and Young
Musician competitions, parents are in awe of what is being achieved with their
children and the primary schools are jumping at the opportunities that Chris
offers. Our performance opportunities allow children to make music together and
Chris is now blending Winston children with primary children to create both
support and aspiration. The Primary
Orchestra concert is an example. The
staff have grown as Chris coaches them to develop their own styles and passions
for music.
Chris believes in the vision for our school and is an
integral part of our focus on the students and providing challenging and
enriching opportunities, that develop the whole person. Music at Winston is not a ‘department’, it
unpins the whole culture and up-lifts us all everyday under the leadership and
passion of Chris.
Headteacher
