Pupils who risk the stigma of being labelled a deadbeat – being beaten by the system of school, exams and higher education – have a new alternative to traditional classroom education.
Some children who do not fit into the system are just moving at a different rhythm to everyone else, and they could be the ones who will benefit from BEATZ.
The new project starts in September at Northwood Young People’s Centre , offering music production training to students aged 16 to 19.
Its leader, Mick Warwick, is now approaching schools across the borough to find 16-19 year-olds who could benefit from the course.
“If a school has a student whose grades are low, or they disrupt lessons and school isn’t really the right place for them, this is an alternative education taking them outside of the classroom,” he said.
Since 2009, more than 600 young people have benefited from vocational training run by the charity Youth Skills Development Trust (YSDT).
During the formal training it offers, the trust also hopes to help the youngsters – who are often socially and economically disadvantaged – to turn their lives around. Recent courses have included mechanics and bicycle maintenance .
“It is about moving them from a place where they think school is their enemy to thinking about where they want to go after school – and letting them know they have options,” said Mr Warwick.
“Some of these guys don’t think university is even on their radar, so we want to give them some confidence and motivation and show them it is possible for them.”
BEATZ will be run out of Northwood Young People’s Centre, in Hallowell Road, Northwood.
Students who complete the course gain Level 1 and Level 2 City and Guilds qualifications but, more importantly, Mr Warwick hopes the project will prepare and inspire them to get into work and possibly an apprenticeship.
“It’s computer based music production training with a view to getting young people from knowing nothing about it at all to a place where they can go into an internship or an apprenticeship,” he added.
“Anyone who completes the course, we will pitch them to people we know in the industry and the hope is that they take them on.
“We can guide people into college too. We have links with Uxbridge College, so if we have got one or two students who are particularly good they can go on to them and Uxbridge College will encourage them to go on to university.”
Mr Warwick, who is 23 and from Harrow , has been producing music for 10 years, and said he first recorded his own songs in his kitchen.
“When the students first come in they have this attitude like the world owes them something,” he said. “We hope to show them that hard work gets you places.
“As well as the formal training, we have a youth worker in each of the classes so, if they have problems going on at home, they have someone to talk to and they have support.
“The training and the classes aren’t difficult for the students – the hard stuff for them is outside of the classroom. “Some of these guys come from really horrible situations. They might have moved from family to family, they might have been excluded from school, some of them come from families where everyone claims benefits so they haven’t actually watched anyone in their family go out to work, and we want to instil in them values that get you further in life.
“Hard work pays off, and you have to have manners. We really want to prepare them so they can go off and get into work.”
Youth Skills Development Trust is taking referrals now for places on the September course. BEATZ will run on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 10am to 4pm at the music studio at Northwood Young People’s Centre.
For more information, visit the trust’s Facebook page or its new website www.ysdt.org.uk which launched this week.
Follow the BEATZ project on twitter @beatzhillingdon .
