Ocarinas and the New Instrument Purchase Fund

Instrument Acquisition Charts

Figures just released by Government show that ocarinas formed 8.6% of all musical instruments bought in 2007/2008 using the New Instrument Purchase Fund.

The Fund was set up to enable every primary school child in England to learn to play a musical instrument free of charge.

In 2007/08, the first of four consecutive years of £10Million investments provided nearly 100,000 musical instruments at an average price of just over £100 per instrument.

Ocarina Workshop provided ocarinas, complete with teaching materials, at around £7 per child, meaning that ocarinas formed a massive 8.6% of all instruments purchased during the first full year of the Fund, at just 0.6% of the total funding.

Ocarinas were the third most popular acquisition, behind recorder and violin, and ahead of guitar and clarinet.

After discussions with Ministers at the Department for Children Schools and Families yesterday, Ocarina Workshop Director, David Liggins, commented “ocarinas are clearly shown in these new figures to offer exceptional value.”

He continued: “What is now to be seen is how these ocarinas will be used. Schools are already telling us that the investment is well targeted in terms of involving more teachers in teaching music, and in making more young musicians.”

This is the second time in 12 months that ocarinas have appeared in Government figures. In 2006/07, the New Instrument scheme was trialled and 5% of all instruments selected were ocarinas.

These figures reflect the growing success of English 4-hole ocarinas in the classroom.

Government Counts Ocarinas In

On 21st November 2007 a UK government press release from the DCSF, Department for Children Schools and Families, appeared heralding new Wider Opportunities funding for Primary School Music. It includes reference to Ocarina Workshop ocarinas in the figures for the trial year:
“… £40 million to buy brand new musical instruments. This comes on top of last year’s £1 million funding which paid for 11,000 new instruments, ranging from violins, flutes and clarinets to ocarinas, African drumming sets and bassoons”

DCSF Case Reference:2008/0103114.

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