Primary schools across Dorset are being invited to take part in English National Opera’s innovative and inclusive music-making programme, Finish This…, designed to inspire creativity, confidence and collaborative composition in Key Stage 2 pupils.

Developed by English National Opera (ENO) in partnership with teachers and primary education specialists, Finish This… combines opera, film and animation to create an engaging classroom experience that encourages children to become composers and storytellers.

The free programme for state schools provides high-quality digital resources and training materials, enabling teachers of all musical backgrounds and experience levels to deliver creative composition activities with confidence. Independent schools can also participate for a fee of £200 per class.

Using specially commissioned operatic works as a starting point, pupils are challenged to respond to and complete unfinished artistic pieces, experimenting with music, sound, voice, body percussion and instruments to create their own original compositions.

Benefits for Pupils

Participants will have the opportunity to:

• Experience opera in a fresh and unexpected way.
• Develop listening, recording and composition skills.
• Build confidence, creativity and self-expression.
• Work collaboratively to create an original piece of music.
• Experience a sense of achievement through sharing their work.

Benefits for Teachers

Teachers taking part will gain:

• Access to professionally developed teaching resources.
• Training and support for delivering whole-class composition projects.
• Increased confidence in music-making and creative learning.
• Opportunities to showcase pupils’ work through the ENO Finish This… Celebration page.

One teacher described the impact of the programme:

“Finish This… has completely raised the profile of composing in our school. It was the most exciting project, broke down so many barriers and was completely inclusive.”

Schools interested in taking part can find out more and register through the English National Opera’s Finish This… programme.

For more information: finishthis@eno.org