Engaging and inspiring primary school students through the ‘School Band’s project

This paper examines the impact of implementing a new music education program, the ’’School Band," in the curricula of students aged 8 to 12 from underprivileged backgrounds. Introduced during the 2020/2021 school year amid COVID-19, the program faced logistical challenges, such as frequent disinfection of wind instruments (e.g., clarinets, saxophones) used by multiple students. The "School Band" fosters interdisciplinary learning, integrates music into students’ daily education, and extends its influence to the community through various musical events. A survey collected feedback from 100 participating students to assess the program’s impact on their academic and personal growth, with descriptive and inferential statistical analysis employed to interpret the data. Results indicate strong engagement and motivation among students across schools, except in one class, where low agreement was linked to the lack of support from a hesitant head teacher, creating anxiety among students during music sessions.