It has been noted for some time that a glaring omission from the English Baccalaureate is Music. Professional musicians, music educators, and musical organisations have been lobbying their MPs and the government in general. After all the music initiatives (such as Wider Opportunities, Sing Up and various Youth programmes) and large sums of money that have been ploughed into them, the message seems to be that music is not that important after all! Schools battling with too little money in their budgets won't be allocating funds to music, when other subjects have been deemed compulsory. Thus we may see music education, and instrumental provision becoming a rarity in schools and possibly a thing of the past again. Some of my own students, who wish to take GSCE music, are having no music lessons at all in year 10, and are having to squeeze the whole course into year 11.

It's not just music, either. Art, RE, in fact all the arts have no place in the EB. As well as the knock on effect on the pupils, a friend of mine who teaches RE and some Latin, has been forced to become a peripatetic in his own school. He no longer has his own room as it was given to  a maths teacher. I'm sure he will not be the only teacher who will receive this demeaning treatment.

Music is an academic subject. The benefits and advantages conferred to children who study music is well documented. It will again become the preserve of the well off who can afford private lessons and training. How many talented musicians will we never know about, or who will never achieve their potential as a result of this short sighted and backward thinking?

Whilst looking for a suggested local charity for Aske Chapel's support in 2012, I thought that something to do with music therapy would be appropriate. My search turned up Jessie's Fund (www.jessiesfund.org.uk) which is a York based charity. They have been doing work in the North Yorkshire area, as well as nationwide, in offering music therapy to sick, terminally ill, and disabled children, with outstanding results. It was very moving to just read about their case histories. Victoria Wood is their patron, and an old friend of the founder. The charity is named after the founder's own daughter.

We put our names in a hat and draw for the chosen 2012 charity. I hope Jessie's Fund get pulled out of the hat, but I will be supporting it myself, in any case.