Island Life Magazine Ltd August/September 2012 | Page 12
ANDREW TURNER MP
A career in music
- no problem!
I recently paid a visit to Platform
One, the not-for-profit, independent
music college in Newport. In the
unlikely surroundings of a converted
warehouse, young people can study
full time for a degree in Commercial
Music, or follow other routes into
careers in the music industry.
I was inspired! There are students
from the Island, joined by others
from all over the UK and even further
afield; the reputation of Platform One
has grown over recent years. As you
might expect it is a noisy environment,
despite the sound-proofing of
the well-equipped studios. But
beyond that, what really caught my
imagination was the dynamism and
enthusiasm of the students and staff.
In fact it can be hard to tell them
apart, especially as degree students get
opportunities to teach the younger
ones, gaining real life experience of
imparting their knowledge – and they
get paid for it.
The College is the brainchild of
brothers Peter and Dave Pontin.
Islanders themselves, they recognised
there was plenty of local talent, but
nowhere for it to be nurtured. Well,
they put that right – in spades.
There are no rose-tinted spectacles
at Platform One; there are plenty of
opportunities in the music business,
as long as you realise it is hard work
and that not everyone can be a rock
star! Britain’s music industry is worth
£5 billion, so as well as straightforward
instrument tuition Platform One can
open doors to teaching, DJ-ing, song
writing, composing, music promotion
and event management to name just a
few of the opportunities. And what is
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really impressive is that Platform One
gives stu dents proper experience of all
of them.
There is even a Saturday rock school
for over 100 young people aged 12
to 16, which costs the equivalent
of £2.50 a session. And it isn’t just
a handy place to leave the kids –
they work towards a qualification
equivalent to a GCSE - and they
clearly love it.
The reason I was so impressed is
Platform One delivers opportunities
outside the traditional ‘school, sixth
form, then off to university’ model.
Two brothers with vision, plenty of
hard work and an element of being in
the right place at the right time, have
made a different path possible – and
one that works.
Not everyone realises what goes on
down in Dodnor Lane, so I wanted to
tell a few more people and let them
know how special it is. But a parent
put it so much better than I ever
could when he told me; “Like many
teenagers my daughter went through
a really difficult stage but she has
blossomed in the last year. Performing
in front of a hundred people has given
her self-confidence an enormous boost
and I am so proud of what she has
achieved. Platform One has changed
her life.”
Long may the Pontin brothers carry
on doing such good work!
The Riverside Centre,
The Town Quay, Newport IW
01983 530808
[email protected]
www.islandmp.org