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Bearley-based Spark Youth Music giving child refugees in Stratford and south Warwickshire the chance to form a band




REFUGEES in Stratford and south Warwickshire will be hitting the right notes with the help of a music programme.

Clare Thomas of Spark Youth Music, pictured with son and musician Sam. Photo: Mark Williamson
Clare Thomas of Spark Youth Music, pictured with son and musician Sam. Photo: Mark Williamson

Spark Youth Music, led by mother-of-three Clare Thomas who lives in Bearley, is giving 11- to 18-year-olds who have been forced to leave their country to escape war or persecution a chance to learn an instrument for free, with the ultimate aim of performing a professional gig.

In addition to the weekly rehearsals at Bearley Village Hall which start on Wednesday, 18th January, the refugee band will write an original song, record it in a professional studio and then create a music video.

Not only that, but they will learn to put together marketing material, take part in a photo shoot and conduct a radio interview.

At the end of the programme, which has received backing from Warwickshire County Council, the musicians will then perform to the masses, working alongside professional sound and light engineers to add to the experience.

Clare explained that the idea to create a band for refugees stemmed from the holiday and food programmes they held in the summer over the last two years in Stratford and Kenilworth for children on free school meals.

Picking up the story, Clare told the Herald: “We had a couple of Ukrainian youngsters on our programme this summer and they got so much from it.

“It was a very emotional experience at the end when they did the gig, to hear them singing We Will Rock You in English when it’s not their first language and being supported by their bandmates and the 250-strong crowd getting behind them was powerful and spectacular.

“So from that I thought whether there was some funding we could tap into to start a band for refugees and here we are now.”

The refugee band is one of six that Spark, which has been supporting vulnerable children and youngsters battling mental health since forming in 2019, hopes to have performing a professional gig. Four will come from Bearley, including the refugee group, one from Southam and one from Evergreen School in Warwick.

Spark is an inclusive organisation where youngsters do not need to have learnt to play an instrument to join and it has come a long way since it was set up as a community interest company.

Clare explained that prior to the organisation being formed, her now 18-year-old son Sam used to attend a popular school music club that was held in town on weekends.

But when that closed, Clare decided to use her detached home in Bearley as a base for one of the bands to keep Sam, who is now a semi-professional musician himself and part of a four-piece group about to be rebranded as Martha on the Roof, in that environment.

“We did not do this to take over from the previous club or to run it as a business, we just wanted to salvage one of the bands and have it at our house,” Clare told the Herald.

“We asked one of the tutors if they wanted to come to the house once a week and we did this all with the blessing of the people that ran the old club, they were so supportive of what we were doing.

“It all escalated from there really. We had so many young children in our house playing music and I’m glad we have a detached house because the neighbours would never speak to us again if we didn’t.”

She continued: “One of the things I and my husband noticed was that some of the youngsters had some mental health issues, nothing severe, just a bit of anxiety and lack of self-esteem.

“We noticed how huge an impact being in a band and having that identity had on a child. Because I like to spice things up, I said ‘why not design some T-shirts and do a gig?’, it was just a bit of fun.

“The children loved that and it boosted their confidence as they felt like they were being treated as a professional band.

“It was such a success that we decided to set up a community interest company so we could apply for funding and support children who were vulnerable, those who would never have the opportunity to pick up an instrument, those struggling with their mental health and those from marginalised communities.”

Clare explained that to date Spark has supported more than 100 children and will help around 40 this year through the music programme. While the 49-year-old understands not all those who take part will end up on a stage singing in front of hundreds of people, it’s about providing a distraction from what they are dealing with.

“I’m not going to lie, we’re not miracle workers, but Spark is probably something you’d call an intervention,” she said.

“I’ve seen children come in on the first day and they are so sick with fear when they walk in but by the end of it they feel so much better.

“What’s really inspiring is that those children who were in the pilot band before Spark formed, including my son, now give up some of their time to be band leaders, to give something back to those youngsters who are struggling with their mental health and want to get into music.

“The band leaders are not much older than the ones they’re helping so that makes for a lovely dynamic. They are seen as role models and are looked up to.

“The music programme is just the vehicle and we know most of these youngsters are not going to be rock stars, the important thing is helping them with their confidence and self-esteem.”

Claire added that it has “taken weeks” before some youngsters start singing but by the time the big gig comes around that their parents “have been left in tears”.

“There’s something very magical about being in a band and the chemistry between the members,” she said.

“They may never communicate together in everyday life but they find this automatic support network in a band because they have that common goal of writing or performing a song.That’s quite an incredible thing to witness.”

Anyone who wants to join Spark Youth Music or knows someone who would benefit from the experience can contact Clare on 07711 372538 or by emailing sparkmusicuk@gmail.com.



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