Demand for music tuition among school pupils in Scotland has surged to record levels, leaving long waiting lists in parts of the country.
The SNP’s decision to scrap charges for learning a musical instrument in 2021 has been credited as a “big catalyst” for the rise, with campaigners urging the Government to protect the funding ahead of Tuesday’s Budget.
The newly-published Instrumental Music Services (IMS) survey for 2022/23 shows how pupil numbers have “rebounded very strongly after the dip during the pandemic”.
A total of 61,715 pupils took part in lessons in the past year, which is 8.9 per cent of the school roll and the highest number since the IMS survey was first carried out more than a decade ago. However, there were wide variations, ranging from 3 per cent of pupils in North Lanarkshire to 30 per cent in the Western Isles.
Waiting lists were operating in 27 of the 32 council areas, due to the limited number of instructors, and capacity issues in some buildings. Demand was significantly outstripping supply in some areas, including Dumfries and Galloway, where the council had 787 pupils on its waiting list, and in Angus, where there were 260.
