summer term 2026
End of Term Project – 5 Years Time
For this term's end-of-year project, we chose 5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale. With its themes of fun, sunshine and friendship, it felt like the perfect song to celebrate the end of the school year. It also uses just four ukulele chords, making it an accessible piece to learn while leaving plenty of opportunities to add other instruments and creative ideas.
When I first introduced the song, the children weren't entirely convinced! I think they thought the band looked a little "nerdy". However, as we listened to it more and began learning it together, they completely changed their minds. Before long they were embracing the song and even borrowing ideas from the original music video to include in their own version.
Musically, the children quickly mastered the opening ukulele riff, although we discovered that the lyrics were a little more challenging than I'd anticipated. The song is quite wordy, making it a real test of singing while playing - something that became a learning experience for me as well as the children. Fortunately, everyone loved the catchy backing vocals and threw themselves into every rehearsal with enthusiasm and they nailed it!
This year's video builds on the filmmaking skills the children developed during our previous We are Going to be Friends project. They put much more thought into creating steadier shots and planning more choreographed scenes. We also enjoyed expanding the musical arrangement by including flutes, viola, Dennis on the drums and even some glockenspiel, giving the performance an even richer sound.
As with any real film production, we faced a few challenges along the way. A handful of absences, poor weather affecting outdoor filming, overheating technology (and teachers!), and the occasional interruption from excited children nearby meant we weren't able to film the entire song.
Esme and Oscar were absent for one of our filming sessions, so they created and filmed their own scenes at home instead - brilliant! Esme even painted a wonderful sign for the word "sun", which worked brilliantly in the finished video and was such a lovely example of the children's creativity and commitment to the project. Rather than rush the ending, I chose to finish the video at a natural point that still tells the story of the project.
One of the things I'm most proud of is the care the children took over every aspect of the filming. Zoe and Ruby, in particular, showed fantastic directing skills, helping to plan shots and encourage the rest of the group. It really was a whole-team effort, with everyone contributing ideas, supporting one another and taking pride in creating something together.
While the finished video may not be perfect, it perfectly captures what School of Uke is all about: learning new skills, being creative, working as a team, trying something new and having fun along the way.
Well done, everyone - we hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!
For this term's end-of-year project, we chose 5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale. With its themes of fun, sunshine and friendship, it felt like the perfect song to celebrate the end of the school year. It also uses just four ukulele chords, making it an accessible piece to learn while leaving plenty of opportunities to add other instruments and creative ideas.
When I first introduced the song, the children weren't entirely convinced! I think they thought the band looked a little "nerdy". However, as we listened to it more and began learning it together, they completely changed their minds. Before long they were embracing the song and even borrowing ideas from the original music video to include in their own version.
Musically, the children quickly mastered the opening ukulele riff, although we discovered that the lyrics were a little more challenging than I'd anticipated. The song is quite wordy, making it a real test of singing while playing - something that became a learning experience for me as well as the children. Fortunately, everyone loved the catchy backing vocals and threw themselves into every rehearsal with enthusiasm and they nailed it!
This year's video builds on the filmmaking skills the children developed during our previous We are Going to be Friends project. They put much more thought into creating steadier shots and planning more choreographed scenes. We also enjoyed expanding the musical arrangement by including flutes, viola, Dennis on the drums and even some glockenspiel, giving the performance an even richer sound.
As with any real film production, we faced a few challenges along the way. A handful of absences, poor weather affecting outdoor filming, overheating technology (and teachers!), and the occasional interruption from excited children nearby meant we weren't able to film the entire song.
Esme and Oscar were absent for one of our filming sessions, so they created and filmed their own scenes at home instead - brilliant! Esme even painted a wonderful sign for the word "sun", which worked brilliantly in the finished video and was such a lovely example of the children's creativity and commitment to the project. Rather than rush the ending, I chose to finish the video at a natural point that still tells the story of the project.
One of the things I'm most proud of is the care the children took over every aspect of the filming. Zoe and Ruby, in particular, showed fantastic directing skills, helping to plan shots and encourage the rest of the group. It really was a whole-team effort, with everyone contributing ideas, supporting one another and taking pride in creating something together.
While the finished video may not be perfect, it perfectly captures what School of Uke is all about: learning new skills, being creative, working as a team, trying something new and having fun along the way.
Well done, everyone - we hope you enjoy watching it as much as we enjoyed making it!
Avenue junior's spring 'school of uke' video... 'we are going to be friends'
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Ta-da! Here’s the children’s song and video from this term!
We started by learning the song (originally by The White Stripes) together. It’s quite repetitive and based around just three chords, so it was a great way to build confidence, and it really helped everyone get more familiar with the D chord. Once the song was underway, we moved on to the creative side of the project. Using an old camcorder and a couple of iPads (perfect for filming!), the children spent a few weeks getting comfortable with the equipment while working in small groups to plan their ideas and create storyboards. As the song is all about school and friendship, we had the perfect setting right on hand for filming. |
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When it came time to record, the children took on different roles. Some chose to be on camera, while others preferred filming and directing - which worked brilliantly. At the same time, I set up a small “recording studio” in one of the breakout rooms, where we recorded vocals (both solo and in small groups) as well as ukulele. The children also learned how to play along using headphones with a click and guide track - a fantastic new skill!
The feedback from the group was overwhelmingly positive - they especially loved the creative freedom during filming. |
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Looking ahead to next term, the students have said they’d love to try writing their own songs, either individually or in small groups. I’m really excited to see what they create!
I hope you enjoy watching the video - a lovely keepsake to look back on in years to come. |
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