And with that, after twelve days of vigorous campaigning, the first step to #SaveCoEMS is taken.
The City of Edinburgh Music School is safe. For today, at least.
We have a lot of people to thank, from parents, politicians, and pupils, to alumni, celebrities, and the press. Without them all, our job would have been much harder. We will give this thanks, and discuss what happened on the day when the proposal to close the school was dropped, in a future blog.
For the moment, I give you this photograph, which should give you an idea of what we’re doing for the next day or three…
Phew! What a day. After our day of rest, our teams were back to work to #SaveCoEMS. And it all turned out rather well in the end.
Let’s start with the most important item, then unwind the rest of the day’s news after that.
So, first, the good news — and it’s really good:
THE COUNCIL LEADER MAKES A STATEMENT ABOUT #SAVECOEMS
I can confirm Council will remove music school proposals from budget consultation following representations from key stakeholders #savecoemspic.twitter.com/Gy0ubZw0Bu
And that, in a nutshell, is it. The City of Edinburgh Music School (tCoEMS) is safe.
Kinda.
The statement isn’t official confirmation the proposal to close tCoEMS is dropped — that will hopefully come from the Finances and Resources Committee today — but it’s as close as we can get before the real thing.
So, how did we get here?
Well, it was a day of news, news, and more news. And it all started with the man that would close the day…
Come Monday morning, the Evening News was running stories about the city’s budget. One article was written by the leader of Edinburgh Council, Councillor Adam McVey, and it had something very relevant to say about us:
‘One proposal in particular has generated significant debate in the capital and across the country – the suggested changes to the music school. I’m grateful to everyone who emailed their local councillors and to those who got in touch directly with me. Our consultation process has always been an open one where everyone’s views are actively encouraged. While this is a new administration, in the last five years consultation has always led to a change in the overall proposals. My message to the people of Edinburgh is: give your view to help set the budget you want!’
A promising start to the day. The councillor seemed to be suggesting that after consultation with constituents, he was ready to change the budget in order to fund tCoEMS.
Of course, there was another potential reading of his article: given the proposal to close tCoEMS had yet to go out to formal consultation, was the council leader suggesting that he would push the proposal forward just so he could gather more views? I.e.: Was he suggesting he would keep the proposal to cut tCoESM in the budget papers just so more people could consult on the matter?
In the Scotsman, Brian Montieth was scathing of Edinburgh council’s handling of tCoEMS. In particularI’m, he made reference to two possible solutions to avoid the school from losing funding in future:
Option 1) Fees
‘Designed to provide a good education without expensive buildings … or extensive extra curricular activities that require dedicated facilities and staff, … it is possible to provide a low cost private school for £52 a week or £2,700 a year.’
Option 2) Direct Funding
‘This shoddy treatment of a prized educational treasure makes the case for direct funding of national centres of excellence all the stronger.’
To respond to these points directly:
We at SaveCoEMS do not support Option 1: Fees. There are many, complicated reasons for this, but at its simplest, many of our parents simply couldn’t afford to pay for education, which would leave their gifted children without the specialist support they need. This is not acceptable.
As for Option 2: Direct Funding; i.e.: directly funding tCoEMS from the Scottish Government, cutting out the Edinburgh council middleman? We would consider this proposal if it was offered, and, as parents of the affected children, would call to have our voice heard in how it was implemented.
Look, let’s make one thing clear, we didn’t call this news article ‘superb‘ simply because Brian Ferguson called our campaign ‘well-run‘, and ‘canny‘, and ‘carefully targetted … at almost every level to make [its] case‘. Well, maybe we did a little…
But that’s not the point.
What Brian Ferguson wonderfully articulates is that Edinburgh strongly supports the arts, and that cuts to services supporting the future stars of the arts were inevitably going to receive significant public backlash.
We understood this from the outset. We are very familiar with tCoEMS, and the services it provides, and know it never fails to impress those exposed to it. The school takes talented young people of all ages and backgrounds from across Scotland and beyond, many of whom have no formal training in music, and turns them into world-class musicians in an environment specifically designed to allow them to flourish. It’s an astonishing place. Cutting it would be a travesty for Scottish culture. All we had to do was communicate that point.
As Brian’s article suggests, it seems likely many councillors didn’t know what a jewel in the Scottish cultural crown the school was, and didn’t understand the outrage that closing it would elicit.
By the afternoon, the first articles about the Open Day on Saturday were surfacing online. This marvellous example neatly explains what tCoEMS and the Open Day is for and includes a selection of lovely quotations from parents of students from tCoEMS, and from those with children hoping to join it later.
Here, the New Statesman illustrates why tCoEMS, a state-funded specialist music school, can’t be allowed to close given it’s one of the sole routes to elite music education for those without the funds for private tuition. I.e.: tCoEMS is a part of the small barrier stopping elite music education growing yet more elitist.
In 2016, roughly six in ten students going to Oxford University came from state schools. At the Royal Academy of Music, a London college which commands much the same reputation in the musical world, the proportion was four in ten.
By the late afternoon, the SNP party finally made its position clear, and the leader of Edinburgh Council made the statement at the opening of this blog.
In no time, articles like the one from the Times above rolled in. The school was saved! Parents, students, and lovers of music rejoice!
Soon, the internet was alive with comments, including a statement from one rather famous violinist…
Nicola Benedetti’s words say far more than I ever could, so I’ll let her take over here:
It seems that Edinburgh Council has abandoned its plan to close the City of Edinburgh Music School. This is the only acceptable outcome to what was a shocking proposal to begin with. Young musicians need specialised support, and being around likeminded creative minds is extremely important. Being a great musician requires a very unusual level of consistent discipline at a very young age, and not all school environments are conducive to maintaining this type of focus. For the future of musicians in Scotland, this school must be supported into the future.
We all need a little bit of magic and beauty in our lives – great musicians, people who have dedicated their lives to doing the seemingly impossible, can provide this. These students, excelling in this field, have the potential to deliver uplift and beauty to their societies. Continued support for the arts in general is an investment in the health of the country. It’s always shortsighted to cut support for it, and a mistake we eventually pay for. I’m pleased to see the right call being made this time.
Thank you, Nicky. Your voice carries far. And we cannot express our thanks for your intervention enough.
LET’S START THE MUSIC!
So, that’s it, right? We’ve successfully saved tCoEMS.
Well, no. Not yet. It’s not over until the Finance and Resources Committee vote on removing the proposal. That happens today, and will be streamed here:
Students, parents and other supporters of @SaveCoEMS intend to gather at Edinburgh City Chambers to show their support for tCoEMS, play some music, and watch from the galleries as we present our deputation to the committee, assuming they let us speak.
We are sending two people to represent us, a parent and a former pupil. We were going to send students as well, but the video for the meeting would be cut if children were speaking, so we chose not to do this in order to allow our supporters to watch the entire live stream.
The commitee meeting starts at 10am, but we’ll be there a good half an hour or so before that. If you wish to join us, you will be very welcome.
Therefore, Sunday was quiet, with most of our parents, students, alumni, and others kicking back for a well-deserved rest.
So, given we have a moment of calm, why don’t we do things a little differently for today’s update? We’ve been receiving a lot of questions lately about our campaign and its current direction, so why don’t we take some time to address those.
Let’s have a Q&A!
I READ THE PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL WAS WITHDRAWN, WHY ARE YOU STILL CAMPAIGNING?
Because the proposal to close the City of Edinburgh’s Music School (tCoEMS) has not been withdrawn yet. It is still in the papers to be discussed on Tuesday 7th November by the Finances and Resources Committee.
BUT THE PROPOSAL WILL BE WITHDRAWN, RIGHT?
We certainly hope so. So far, we’ve had assurances from representatives of all political parties that they will not support a proposal to close tCoEMS. However, until we know for certain the proposal is withdrawn, we have to keep campaigning.
IF ITS GOING TO BE WITHDRAWN, WHY DON’T THE POLITICIANS SIMPLY REMOVE THE PROPOSAL NOW?
It is not possible to simply withdraw a proposal. Council procedure requires all papers have to be lodged a week in advance. A week ago, the proposal was to close the school. After a week of campaigning, we hope that is no longer the case.
SO, WHEN WILL THE PROPOSAL BE WITHDRAWN?
Assuming it is to be withdrawn, Councillors can put in amendments to the papers either during an official meeting, or immediately before. So, we hope the proposal will be withdrawn either just before or during the Finance and Resource Committee meeting held on the 7th November at 10am.
WHEN THAT HAPPENS, YOUR CAMPAIGN IS OVER, RIGHT?
No, we have to be sure tCoEMS is safe before the campaign is over. The only way to be sure of that is to have it confirmed tCoEMS receives full funding and will not face any farther cuts.
CUTS?
Just because tCoEMS is ‘saved’ — i.e.: not closed — does not mean it won’t face cuts. One of our goals is to ensure tCoEMS’s already stretched budget is not cut any farther. It was cut by the City of Edinburgh Council in previous years, and the effects of this are significant to the school.
BUT I READ THE MONEY FOR THE SCHOOL DOESN’T COME FROM THE COUNCIL, BUT FROM THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT. IF THAT’S RIGHT, HOW CAN THE COUNCIL CUT THAT MONEY?
The City of Edinburgh Council receives extra money from the Scottish Government to supply a national Centre of Excellence for music in Edinburgh. In recent years, the amount of money tCoEMS receives has fallen.
SO, DOES THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT GIVE THE COUNCIL LESS MONEY?
According to figures we have seen, which may not be accurate, the Scottish Government provides Edinburgh Council significantly more money to run a Centre of Excellence than tCoEMS receives to run itself.
WHAT? IS THE COUNCIL USING MONEY IT RECEIVES TO SUPPORT A CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE ON OTHER THINGS?
It seems that way. To be sure, we’ve asked the Scottish Government to confirm how much money it gives to the City of Edinburgh Council to run a musical Centre of Excellence. We already know how much money Edinburgh Council gives to the school.
These numbers may be the same. They may not.
BUT SURELY IF THE COUNCIL CLOSED THE SCHOOL, WOULDN’T THE SCOTTISH GOVERNMENT WITHDRAW THE EXTRA MONEY IT PROVIDES FOR SUPPLYING THE SCHOOL IN THE FIRST PLACE?
We don’t know for certain. The Scottish Government determines whether Edinburgh Council is eligible to receive extra money or not. However, it seems very likely that, yes, Edinburgh Council would lose any extra money it receives to run a national Centre of Excellence if that national Centre of Excellence is closed.
So, for saving a few pounds today, Edinburgh Council would likely lose much more tomorrow.
WELL, THAT SEEMS WRONG. SOMEONE SHOULD TELL THEM THAT. WHEN THE COUNCIL MEETS ON TUESDAY TO DISCUSS THIS, WILL YOU BE THERE?
We hope so. We have lodged a request to speak to the Finance and Resources Committee about tCoEMS. This is called making a deputation. A deputation is where a representative of a group or organisation comes to speak to a committee meeting on a subject of their choice. Assuming the councillors agree to listen to us, we will have 10 minutes to present our case. After this, the councillors can ask our representatives any questions they may have. Then the councillors will debate the new information they have received.
GOT IT. BUT SURELY THIS DEPUTATION WILL BE POINTLESS IF THE COUNCIL WITHDRAWS ITS PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL BEFORE THE MEETING?
We believe a deputation, in those circumstances, is still worthwhile. At the committee’s last meeting, it was clear tCoEMS was not fully understood by the committee. We believe it is worth addressing the committee to resolve this.
OKAY, GOT IT. LET’S SEE IF I HAVE THIS RIGHT:
THE PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL CANNOT BE WITHDRAWN UNTIL TUESDAY. COME TUESDAY, YOU ARE SENDING A DEPUTATION TO THE COUNCIL TO DISCUSS THE PROPOSAL, WHICH YOU HOPE WILL BE WITHDRAWN THAT DAY. IF THE COUNCIL WITHDRAWS THE PROPOSAL BEFORE SPEAKING TO YOU, YOU WILL STILL MAKE A DEPUTATION TO THE COMMITTEE, IF IT ALLOWS, AS YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT THE COMMITTEE UNDERSTAND THE SCHOOL MORE FULLY. YOU ALSO AIM TO ENSURE THE SCHOOL FACES NO CUTS, AND IS FULLY FUNDED IN FUTURE.
DO I HAVE THAT RIGHT?
Yup.
BUT WHAT IF THE PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL IS NOT WITHDRAWN?
That now seems very unlikely. But, if that were to be the case, we are prepared. Do not worry.
SO, WE HAVE TO KEEP PUSHING THE CAMPAIGN FORWARD UNTIL THE PROPOSAL TO CLOSE THE SCHOOL IS WITHDRAWN AND FULL FUNDING IS PROVIDED.
That’s how we see it, yes. And that’s what we intend to do.
The City of Edinburgh Music School’s (tCoEMS) Open Day: an annual event where visitors tour our music facilities, meet specialist teachers, and listen to talented student play. Parents also lend a hand, helping with the tours and answering questions. Its a fun day for everyone, with excited young people showing off their skills and sharing their school-life with others.
But this year things were different: the school was threatened because Edinburgh Council had proposed closing it.
Presumably, this would leave teachers tense, students anxious, and parents concerned. And, while yes, that was the case for some, none of it showed. Instead, everyone rose to the occasion, and visitors to the school were offered smiling faces and a trove of musical riches.
Indeed, by all accounts, the Open Day was an enormous success and a tremendous day for all. And don’t worry if you missed it, we have many highlights below.
But, before we discuss what happened, let’s turn to the beginning of the day.
LABOUR SUPPORT
As openers for the day go, this was great. According to press sources, the Labour party held a meeting and decided to withdraw all support from budget proposals that would result in the closure of tCoEMS.
Given we already had assurances from the Conservatives, Greens, and Liberal Democrats in the council that they also would not support such a proposal, things were looking good.
That said, nothing was yet confirmed, so proposals were still on the table. In particular, we were still unsure what the SNP party planned (though many individual members had pledged support to us). So, until the plans were definitely put aside, and we were sure the school would be fully funded, our campaign had to continue.
Especially when we considered the next headline…
EDINBURGH MUSIC SCHOOL SAFE BUT MAY LOSE KEY VENUE
This was worrying. The National suggested that although tCoEMS would almost certainly stay open given Labour had withdrawn any support for closing it, there was still a strong possibility of cuts, and possibly sizeable ones.
TCoEMS has an annexe attached to the Flora Stevenson Primary School where its students are taught music between normal lessons with the main body of the school. It is the only maintained-sector provision of its type in Europe, and it’s an essential component of tCoEMS as a whole. The thought that free musical education for gifted children from P1-P7 could be lost to Scotland was unthinkable to us.
Fortunately, the article was largely supposition. Nevertheless, if such a threat did possibly exist, we had to make sure we retained our focus and did everything we could to avoid it. TCoEMS had to be saved in its entirety, not just bits of it.
And what better way to help ensure that than have a marvellous Open Day…
COME ONE, COME ALL, IT’S OPEN DAY!
Parents, students, and teachers gathered within Broughton High School to prepare for the Open Day. Soon, rooms were filled with practising young musicians, the halls and studios were ready for visitors and guides, and the recital room was prepared for performances.
But, given #SaveCoEMS is a campaign to sway politicians, it’s important for us to talk about them and how they reacted to such a day. Did any turn up? Were they convinced the school needed to stay open? Were they impressed with the facilities and students?
Rather than answer that for them, I’ll let them talk for themselves. The following is a sample of the opinions shared on Twitter by politicians visiting our school on Saturday. There were many more opinions, but tracing them all down can be hard. If you find more (or wrote them), contact us, and we’ll mark them in the next blog post.
Inverleith, Finance Comm & Education Comm councillors had a great visit to The City of Edinburgh Music School at Broughton today 🎼🎶🎹🎻🎺🥁 pic.twitter.com/NQJu26xppU
Great to see the talent at City of Edinburgh Music School with other @ScotTories councillors. Glad to see Council plans to disband shelved https://t.co/rgfJcweCpu
Thoroughly enjoyable visit to the City of Edinburgh Music School open day with some of my fellow @EdinburghTories councillors. Great to hear performances from some of the wonderfully talented students and to talk to staff. #SaveCOEMSpic.twitter.com/sN2sTanQDG
Really enjoyed my visit to City of Edinburgh Music School’s Open Day. Fantastic performances from all and some amazing talent. 👍 @savecoemshttps://t.co/7FDztLIzXK
In total, around 15-20 politicians visited the Open Day this year, and all of them seemed very impressed with the students, the teachers, and the school. Not only that, but many of them immediately tweeted support for #SaveCoEMS as they left the building. All-in-all, we could not be happier to have received such broad support from so many political figures.
Thank you.
Happy to get the date in my diary for the next one as soon as it is available 🎶🎵🎶🎵
Before that, let’s celebrate the successful day with some more photographs:
AND TOMORROW?
Tomorrow, most of our teams intend to rest in preparation for the next week of campaigning. In particular, we’re preparing for the Finance and Resources Committee meeting on the 7th November, where the fate of the proposal to close our school will be decided.
To help the committee make its decision, we’re preparing a deputation to present our position, and what we think would be the best direction for the councillors to take going forward and into the future.
Friday was a flurry of activity at @SaveCoEMS central. We’ve met journalists from newspapers and television, handed-out flyers to spread the word, spoke to MSPs and city councillors, tapped away furiously on keyboards and phones, and generally built momentum for our campaign.
And, whilst all this was going on, we were also preparing for the tCoEMS‘s Open Day today. But more on that later. Let’s start with how Friday began, and end at the bottom with some music.
THE CITY OF EDINBURGH MUSIC SCHOOL SAVED! OR, NOT…
That morning, the press suggested the campaign was done and dusted. We woke up to find headline after headline from news outlets — ranging from the local Edinburgh Evening News to the national BBC News — telling us we’d succeeded and that the City of Edinburgh Music School was saved! Brilliant!
Right?
Well, maybe not. It seemed things were a little vague.
‘now unlikely to feature’, ”ready to U-turn’, ‘expected to pull the plug’, ‘plans set to be abandoned’
So, nothing had changed. Yet. But everyone expected it to. Probably.
The more we read, the more obvious it was that nothing had yet changed and that we still had reason to be concerned. After all, even if the press was correct and the proposal to close Scotland’s only free P1-S6 music school was pulled, there were still no assurances the council wouldn’t announce a different cut instead.
It was clear: until it was confirmed the school was to stay open and be fully funded, we weren’t finished. So, the campaign had to continue.
TO THE STREETS!
Across Edinburgh, we continued to push, spreading the word through leaflets and flyers, engaging with our communities as best we could. Already, many believed the music school was saved. We explained that whilst we hoped that was the case, nothing was yet confirmed, and we were still campaigning to ensure the school was not only safe, but was also properly funded.
Everywhere we went, people voiced their shock and horror at the proposed closure or potential loss of funds, and offered their support. It’s been a truly heartening experience to meet all these positive people looking to help in any way they can.
TO THE DIGITAL HIGHWAY!
Meanwhile, online, the campaign was having a similarly positive effect. Every hour new messages of support from ex-students, politicians, family, friends, musicians, artists, and so many more poured in. Some offered congratulations for the progress so far, others shared horror that a cultural beacon could be so unwisely extinguished, others offered to help directly.
On Facebook, we soon passed 1000 likes. On Twitter, we were tweeted and retweeted by people across the country, all offering support should we require it.
And if you would like to join them, please like our Facebook page, follow our Twitter account, and engage in any way you can. We also have an Instagram account, but we live in the Stone Ages, so it’s not frequently updated yet (we’ll get there, honest). Whatever your preferred media platform, your contributions are what drive this campaign forward, so please get involved. Share, comment, tweet, blog.
HIS NAME IS ALEX COLE-HAMILTON
Alex Cole-Hamilton, MSP. You may remember him from yesterday’s post where he joined our campaigners outside the Scottish parliament and offered his support? Or perhaps you saw him in this photo where he is discussing #SaveCoEMS with our spokeswoman, Lindsay Law? But if you thought that’s all he’d done, just you wait, just you wait. (I’m sorry, I’ll stop badly paraphrasing Hamilton, now).
It turns out he’d also been super busy in the parliament that day. Take a look at this:
Yup, that’s a motion lodged with the Scottish parliament. And take a look at the cross-party support it drew. We have Conservatives, Labour, SNP, and Greens all working together with a Lib-Dem MSP. And just read those words of support! This is brilliant!
Meanwhile, as evening drew in, one group of parents and younger students visited the Usher Hall. There they met with music-lovers hitting the town to watch the Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO), with its Musical Director, Peter Oundjian, conducting Beethoven’s Pastoral (discussed here).
Outside, a drum was played to… well… drum people up, and soon everyone was discussing our campaign. Indeed, many of the people had already heard of the school’s plight, and some had even read this blog! For those that didn’t know what was happening, we provided leaflets and explained the details. All-in-all, it was a marvellous evening, and we gathered a lot of new supporters.
And little did we know, it was about to get even better!
ENTER KATHERINE BRYAN
As the younger students waved their banner, the Principal Flute of the RSNO and soloist, Katherine Bryan, came out to say hello, pose for some pictures, and discuss #SaveCoEMS with us. She also tweeted about us online, and graciously offered to provide what assistance she could.
Listeners to Classic FM will know Katherine Bryan very well as her album, Silver Voice, is currently their Album of the Week, and is played frequently on their channel. We are absolutely delighted to have her support in ensuring our school stays open and is fully funded, and hope we have a chance to see her again soon.
OPEN DAY
And, finally, beyond all the busy campaigning, we have been preparing parents and students for tCoEMS’s annual Open Day, which takes place today!
It’s an opportunity to see the music school and what it offers first-hand, with students and parents organising tours from 11am-2pm, giving all visitors a chance to see the facilities, meet the staff, and hear current students play music.
We hope to see you there.
MUSICAL INTERLUDE
To finish off, let’s listen to Katherine Bryan play highlights from Borne’s Carmen Fantasy for piano and flute at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland back in 2015, accompanied by Scott Mitchell. It’s not only a delightfully expressive piece, but it’s also amusing.
Tomorrow, the City of Edinburgh Music School hosts its annual open day. Pupils and parents will be on hand to give you a guided tour of the school and give you the opportunity to see the facilities, speak to the staff, and hear the students play.
As soon as it became obvious that our campaign to #savecoems was going to involve more than just a few passionate parents from Broughton High School and Flora Stevenson Primary School, a blog was organised.
However, we’ve had a lot of planning, lobbying, and debating to do, so this place has lain fallow as we organised everything else, including our Twitter feed and Facebook page. Now that’s all done, let’s take a look at what happened on Thursday.
A group of parents and students met at the Scottish parliament to serenade MSPs as they left the building after First Minister’s Questions. It may have been beautifully sunny, but it was also extremely cold, almost too cold for instruments to be played and flyers handed-out. Luckily the Student Support Team swooped in with hot chocolate to warm chilly fingers and bolster spirits.
‘Of course it’s only a proposal that the council is considering at this stage in its budget consultation, but I do think that the council will want to reflect the fact that these Centres of Excellence, including the music school, allow children to and young people across Scotland the opportunity to receive expert tuition in their school specialism — in this case, music. That’s something very valuable and I think there’s plenty of evidence of that, and I’m sure the importance of that is something The City of Edinburgh Council is reflecting on carefully.’
Let’s hope so!
CROSS-PARTY SUPPORT FOR #savecoems
After FMQs, Andy Wightman accompanied a cross-party group of MSPs to join us, and soon many a photo opportunity was taken. After much debate, music, fun, and laughter, all the politicians expressed their support of the #savecoems campaign.
They all deserve our applause! Their shared voices will be very important in the days and weeks to come.
WORD SPREADING!
The visit to parliament prompted a flurry of social media activity, with scores of pictures and videos being shared online, including the impromptu violin lesson for Kezia Dugdale above…
As the debate rose and fell outside parliament, and we continued to pass out flyers, one passer-by declined to take one.
‘I’m from West Lothian,’ he said. ‘but I already know about this, a busker told me!”
Seems word is getting out there!
MORE POLITICAL SUPPORT FOR #saveCoems
As we settled in for the evening, the Deputy Leader of the SNP, Angus Robertson, tweeted his support to us:
We delighted to have his support, especially given he is also a formal pupil!
AND FOR FRIDAY…
Today we intend to continue our push to spread the word across social media, the press, and in person at events across Edinburgh. If you would like to help, do not hesitate to contact us at our Twitter feed and Facebook page.
Former pupil Tommy Smith – Saxophonist, students Mia and Freya and parent Lindsay Law are interviewed about the proposed closure of the music school – hear them at around 1hr 50m
As openers for the day go, this was great. According to press sources, the Labour party held a meeting and decided to withdraw all support from budget proposals that would result in the closure of tCoEMS.
Save The City of Edinburgh Music School 