Over the past twenty-five years, OAE Education has grown in stature and reach to involve thousands of people nationwide in creative music projects. Our participants come from a wide range of backgrounds and we pride ourselves in working flexibly, adapting to the needs of local people and the places where they live. The extensive partnerships we have built over many years, across the country, ensure maximum and lasting impact for all those who work with us.

We take inspiration from the OAE’s repertoire, instruments and players. This makes for a vibrant, challenging and engaging programme where everyone is involved; players, animateurs, composers, participants, teachers, partners and stakeholders all have a valued voice. We always strive to develop our partnerships so that the broadest, most diverse communities may enjoy and experience the arts.

In 2023/24, our Education team worked with 23,252 participants including a live audience of 14,463, taking part in or seeing 381 workshops and 63 concerts. We visited 48 primary schools, 4 secondary schools, 6 SEN settings and 3 universities in 26 towns/cities/villages across England.

By 2027, the OAE aim to have established a educational lifecycle that begins at the primary level, as follows:

• Up to year 6: primary engagement. The OAE has a strong practice in most Camden primary schools and others nationwide.
• Year 7: creative scholarship intake programme to identify talented and underserved candidates.
• Years 7 – 13: extra-curricular mentoring and work experience programme.
• Years 12-13: T Level qualification.
• Post School: Work Placement with the OAE and career support with partner industries (e.g. other organisations’ media, film and TV production and the creative arts).

Read more about how we are achieving this in the following section. For more information on our creative residency at Acland Burghley School in north London, visit A Year at Acland Burghley