Sophie Evans put in a special appearance when she visited Cardiff’s Kings Monkton School on Friday 16th January to meet pupils and open their new recording studio, from which they will soon start broadcasting a new school radio station.
Sophie, who played Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz at the London Palladium, went along to meet, and sing with, some of the talented youngsters and the teaching team during a morning of activities to celebrate the opening of their new music recording facility.
Paul Norton, Principal at Kings Monkton School, said: “All the children and staff have been looking forward to welcoming Sophie to the school today. She is a fantastic role model for youngsters so I am sure her visit will inspire lots of our pupils to pursue their ambitions and develop their musical talents.
“Music is very important at Kings Monkton, where we place emphasis on the talents and interests of each individual pupil, as well as focusing on academic results. This new studio, which we converted from a small classroom using state-of-the-art technology and industrial standard sound proofing, will provide us with a multi-purpose facility for use by all age groups.
“It will be particularly exciting for GCSE and A Level Media Studies and Music Technology pupils to get hands-on experience of recording their own soundtracks for film, drama and stage productions. Who knows, perhaps we will nurture some future music impresarios from here!”
Sophie, who grew up in the Rhondda, said: “It’s great to be back in Cardiff and wonderful to see the new facilities at Kings Monkton, which will open up lots of opportunities for the children here to explore their interest in music”.
Kings Monkton, one of Wales’ oldest co-educational independent schools, has invested around £50,000 in state of the art music facilities to support its pupils’ learning and develop their talents in music production, composition and broadcast. The Kings Monkton Parents’ Association (KMPA) has provided support towards the purchase of musical instruments and technical equipment as part of this development.
By spring 2015, Kings Monkton will be broadcasting its own radio station from the studio. It will initially be run by sixth form pupils before being rolled out throughout the age groups so that everyone can get involved. Parents will be able to listen online and download podcasts.
