Perhaps this may be a little off topic, but it may help put things into a different perspective...

I used to be a primary school teacher, and was responsible for music in the school which was located between a very poor council estate and a well-to-do estate of private houses. This meant the children were from a wide range of backgrounds.

The Local Authority 'Music Advisor' at the time believed that there was no point in providing loan instruments for children from poorer families because they could not afford to buy an instrument if the child showed promise.

This was not an opinion I agreed with, though I could see his point. To me it was simply driving a bigger wedge between the 'haves' and 'have nots', and potentially gifted children were being denied their basic rights. The council estate was a 'dumping ground' for problem families, which didn't help.

In other words, money and not ability was the yardstick.

Okay, that's the real world, like it or lump it, but an eight year old child should at least have an equal opportunity to education.

My approach was to refuse LEA loan instruments completely, and persuade the Head to purchse some reasonable quality (Japanese Aulos) cheap descant recorders which could be lent to rich and poor alike, with no serious financial implications if any went missing...

Okay, there's quite a diversity of opinion as to the value of teaching recorder in school, but it's probably better than nothing at all.

Children who showed promise got to keep their recorders when they moved on to secondary school, and some families (okay, the wealthier ones) bought flutes, clarinets and so on for their children even before they moved on. But at least they weren't floored at the first hurdle.

I also did lunchtime guitar classes for those who could bring their own instruments, which had a spin-off of instruments being donated for the use of those who didn't have their own.

This was in addition to choir practice and country dance sessions - which were very well attended even when it wasn't raining!