Music school looks for partners to expand in Belfast

Morningside School of Music has grown to accommodate more than 1400 pupils of all ages and 40 teachers from its base in Edinburgh.

Now the school wants to expand from beyond the east of Scotland and extend its work in other UK cities.

Its owners have appealed to music teachers in Belfast who are interested in setting up a similar enterprise.

Director Linda Boyd said the partnership opportunity could enable the creation of new schools in and around Belfast, and explore new methods of teaching including remote lessons on applications like Zoom and the use of artificial intelligence.

Anyone in Belfast interested in exploring a franchise with the school should visit www.schoolofmusicfranchise.co.uk.

Ms Boyd said: “We’ve spent more than two decades building this business in Edinburgh to become one of the largest independent music schools in the UK.

“If it can work in the east of Scotland it can work anywhere, and that’s why we’re keen to speak to music teachers and other business-minded people in Belfast to see what we can do.

“Children who are able to learn a musical instrument have then been shown to excel in numerous other social and academic areas.

“And we don’t stop at just learning, the ethos of the school is about getting out there to perform live too.

“We have pupils of all ages and, since lockdown, more adults than ever have come on board to either learn something new or revisit an old hobby.

“These are opportunities that should be afforded to people in Belfast too and we’re keen to speak to anyone who we can support in leading that ambition.”