Class of 2026 Present Their Leavers’ Song and Video
During the summer term, the Class of 2026 stayed after school to work with me (Gemma) on creating their own leavers’ song and music video. Together, we reflected on their time at Browick, writing lyrics inspired by the memories that have made their primary school years so special.
It was a wonderfully lively group to work with, and our after-school sessions were fuelled generously by Rosie’s biscuits, which quickly became an essential part of the creative process!
One memory they kept coming back to was their residential trip, so we decided it deserved its own feature in the middle of the song as a rap. After chatting with each child about their interests, Willow mentioned that she loved comics, which sparked the idea of using AI to transform the residential adventure into a fun, comic-inspired video with a nostalgic Grange Hill feel.
Musically, I also wanted to capture some of the energy of the Beastie Boys, particularly the playful style of Intergalactic, which we watched together for inspiration. The children really embraced the idea, although we didn’t quite get around to recording that version! Keep an eye out during the rap, where Miss Walker makes a special cameo appearance, much to the children’s delight.
Ben and Rosie were keen to play guitar on the track, so I kept the chords simple enough for them to learn and perform. It turned out that those easy guitar chords made the melody surprisingly tricky to sing, giving us a few challenges with some of the higher notes - a valuable lesson for me for future projects!
The children also took turns filming one another. Once the backing track was ready, we recorded them miming the song together as a group. My aim was to create something that celebrates their friendships, captures some wonderful memories, and gives them a keepsake they can look back on with pride for years to come.
I hope the Class of 2026 enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it, and I hope parents enjoy sharing these special memories with them too.
It was a wonderfully lively group to work with, and our after-school sessions were fuelled generously by Rosie’s biscuits, which quickly became an essential part of the creative process!
One memory they kept coming back to was their residential trip, so we decided it deserved its own feature in the middle of the song as a rap. After chatting with each child about their interests, Willow mentioned that she loved comics, which sparked the idea of using AI to transform the residential adventure into a fun, comic-inspired video with a nostalgic Grange Hill feel.
Musically, I also wanted to capture some of the energy of the Beastie Boys, particularly the playful style of Intergalactic, which we watched together for inspiration. The children really embraced the idea, although we didn’t quite get around to recording that version! Keep an eye out during the rap, where Miss Walker makes a special cameo appearance, much to the children’s delight.
Ben and Rosie were keen to play guitar on the track, so I kept the chords simple enough for them to learn and perform. It turned out that those easy guitar chords made the melody surprisingly tricky to sing, giving us a few challenges with some of the higher notes - a valuable lesson for me for future projects!
The children also took turns filming one another. Once the backing track was ready, we recorded them miming the song together as a group. My aim was to create something that celebrates their friendships, captures some wonderful memories, and gives them a keepsake they can look back on with pride for years to come.
I hope the Class of 2026 enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it, and I hope parents enjoy sharing these special memories with them too.
Supporting creative opportunities
Projects like this are made possible through a combination of parents' fees and funding from ILOVEUKE CIC, using money raised by our fantastic ukulele community through events such as our Christmas Party and performances by our adult groups. These funds allow us to offer creative experiences that go beyond weekly lessons, giving children the opportunity to write, record and perform music together. We're incredibly grateful to everyone who helps make these projects possible.
Projects like this are made possible through a combination of parents' fees and funding from ILOVEUKE CIC, using money raised by our fantastic ukulele community through events such as our Christmas Party and performances by our adult groups. These funds allow us to offer creative experiences that go beyond weekly lessons, giving children the opportunity to write, record and perform music together. We're incredibly grateful to everyone who helps make these projects possible.