CHILDREN from two Oxford primary schools sang songs they wrote to launch a music festival at the Ashmolean Museum yesterday.

Around 50 ten and 11-year-old pupils from North Kidlington Primary School and West Kidlington Primary School took part in the event at 1.30pm, to start the Oxford Lieder Festival.

Festival education officer, Martin Peters, organised song-writing workshops with the pupils, after they visited the Edward Lear exhibition at the Ashmolean in September.

They devised ideas for songs they would write with workshop leaders John Barber, Sophie Grimmer and Jack Ross.

Matthew Coatsworth, deputy headteacher at West Kidlington Primary School, said: “It has been a momentous journey working intensively with professional musicians, something which rarely happens in primary schools.

“One of the best things is seeing how children can grow in confidence so quickly. It has been a fantastic opportunity for them and a great chance to celebrate music-making in the city with the Leider Festival.”

The Oxford Lieder Festival takes place through the last two weeks of October.

Visit http://oxfordlieder.co.uk