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After 18 months of hard work and planning, we are delighted to have opened the redeveloped Vanbrugh Studio earlier this year.

The venue is now a fully integrated bespoke teaching centre with three high-specification teaching rooms, sound isolation and acoustic treatment, a welcoming waiting area and kitchen facilities for teachers. The build is part of a larger development project which includes the purchase of a grand piano, upright piano and digital piano for the centre, along with previously hired instruments and teaching equipment for use across all our venues.

The development takes us from two permanent teaching rooms last year to four rooms now, expanding our capability to deliver high quality music education and making Vanbrugh Studio the only public teaching and examination centre in South East London equipped with a grand piano. The centre acts as base for our teaching and training work at other locations including Mycenae House, Charlton House, and numerous children’s centres, schools and nurseries across Greenwich.  

Students and teachers have been enjoying making music at the centre, and we have welcomed dozens of new students since opening in January.    

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“First of all. The school looks AMAZING!! I’m very impressed!! It’s very nice to be working in this space 👌 thank you”

— NEUS, TEACHER

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“I really like what you have done with the space.”

— TOM, STUDENT

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“Genuinely loved the new place. So did students and parents. It looks really nice and professional and it’s a real pleasure to work in it.”

— ANDREA, TEACHER

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In 2018 the trustees of Greenwich Music School decided that the organisation should seek to open additional permanent teaching rooms, since the current two teaching rooms on Vanbrugh Hill and at Charlton House were at full capacity, with a fast-growing waiting list of children and adults wishing to begin lessons.

The development project grew in scope to include wider work across our organisation to grow financial stability and social impact including access for students from low income backgrounds. The project was supported by a social development loan of £120,000 from CAF Venturesome, along with a grant of nearly £10,000 from The Reach Fund to help us develop our business plan and social impact measurement through work with CAN Invest.

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“The new centre has a real buzz - I really enjoy teaching there myself! The centre creates new opportunities for teaching and learning, and hugely boosts efficiency so that we can do even more to improve lives through music.”

— BETHAN SCOLDING, DIRECTOR AT GREENWICH MUSIC SCHOOL

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Every day Vanbrugh Studio provides opportunities for teachers to exchange skills and expertise, creating a melting pot of innovation in music education - a key ambition since the organisation was founded in 2016.

The project would not have been possible without the considerable contribution of architect Huw James at Kendall Kingscott, who worked entirely pro bono to lead the whole building project from the earliest design stages through to tender, appointment of contractors, project management on- and off-site, and completion. We’d like to thank Martin Painton of Smith Consult who advised on the ventilation and similarly gave their time for free.

We’re also grateful to building contractors Brian Power Building Ltd, who carried out the work with attention to detail, on budget and on schedule. We were therefore able to carry out the work with minimal disruption to lessons, which were kindly hosted by Twin Group at The Greenwich Centre during the end of the Autumn term.

Greenwich Music School reaches over 350 students and families each week through a programme including individual tuition, a highly acclaimed early years programme, professional training, beginner instrument groups and classes for children and adults to create, perform and learn about music. We work in partnership with a number of organisations to improve lives through music, across Greenwich and surrounding areas.

In recent weeks coronavirus restrictions have meant that Vanbrugh Studio has been closed to students, with all our teaching taking place online. We’re looking forward to getting back inside to enjoy making music together!

To find out more about lessons at Vanbrugh Studio see our individual tuition page.

To hire a room for practice, rehearsal or an audition see our page on Tutti.  

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