Mikeysline Bee The Change choir is bringing Inverness school pupils out of their shells as Charleston Academy teacher hails it as ‘most rewarding thing I’ve done in a long time’
A secondary school choir has gone from singing with their backs to the audience to performing on some of the biggest stages in the Highlands – all while helping to promote the message of mental health charity Mikeysline.
Charleston Academy pupil support assistant Diane Lennan set up the singing group in partnership with Highland Council’s youth development officer Nikki Mowat to provide extra support for pupils struggling with issues like mental health, learning disabilities, behavioural or LGBTQ+ identities, but it has quickly snowballed into something much bigger.
While growing the numbers involved from six to 27, a conversation with Mikeysline saw the group quickly transform into the charity’s Bee The Change Choir.
That opened up new opportunities to perform outside of the school practice room at events like Mikeysline’s ninth anniversary celebrations – where they were joined by Callum Beattie.
They would go on to sing at the school during lunchtimes, the Highland Council headquarters, the Mikeysline Burns Supper at the Kingsmills Hotel and even the Black Isle Belter, where they got to meet famous faces like Peat and Diesel and Scouting for Girls.
The choir will also be taking part in Highland’s Got Talent, but what has pleased school employees most is the impact that banding together to perform has had on the individual pupils.
Megan Lindsay, for example, said: “I think to start with it felt like a little singing club, but now it feels so much bigger, like we’re at a concert”, while Emily Conroy commented: “I was really nervous at the start, but I think performing on stage has changed the way I view myself. I have a bit more confidence now”.
Emily was not the only one who felt the nerves at first, with Amy Lyon continuing: “The idea of performing in front of people was terrifying, but my friends have been helping me through. I used to be so nervous, but once you get used to it you can really enjoy it and now we all just love it.”
Jamie Macpherson was another who struggled to get up on stage at first, not feeling confident enough to perform at their Christmas show but growing comfortable enough to sing at the Black Isle Belter.
He said: “The Black Isle Belter made me so nervous, because it was my first time on stage. I was still scared, but I was able to overcome it and it was so fun.
“It’s kind of crazy to think about how much we’ve changed. We don’t always see it ourselves, but when you look back it’s obvious.”
Even at their young ages, the pupils are conscious of the impact that spreading Mikeysline’s message of “it’s ok not to be ok” can have, and it is another point of pride for them.
Lillie-Ann Creech said: “I’ve got some connections that go back to the beginning of Mikeysline, so it’s really cool to help them grow and get more people to be knowledgeable about it.
“The choir has helped me not be as anxious, and stop not opening up to people. You can relate to how other people are feeling, and even if you don’t know them before you can make friendly connections that way.”
Bethan Evans also commented: “It’s nice to feel like you’re not being judged and have that reassurance.”
Different pupils have different goals they would like to achieve through the Bee The Change choir. For some, it is about continuing to foster a welcoming environment for anyone to join, like Rylee Coffey who said: “I joined to make new friends and be in an environment that people were singing in. It has given me a lot more confidence in everything I do, so we want to create an environment where we can keep welcoming new people.”
Others want to be spreading their message farther and wider, with Kayleigh Surtees-Stone saying: “We’ve got to sing in front of lots of different people, not just the school. I like to think we can continue to perform in different places, maybe even go outside of Inverness.”
Esha Rajesh would like to keep singing on big stages to make her teachers proud, commenting: “One day I hope we can get on the big stage with all the other choirs. We need to win the Highland Talent Show, we have been practicing so much for that.
“It’s just great. The teachers are very lovely, and everything they are organising for us is to help us improve our skills, which we are grateful for.”
For Evie Mackay-Petrie, though, being part of the choir has helped build her confidence for a potential future career, as she said: “I wouldn’t mind being a singer-songwriter someday, and making people happy. That’s my main goal in life – I want a career that makes people happy, and where I can be creative.
“Before I joined the choir I wasn’t confident enough. I couldn’t do it, I tended to freeze up – even if there wasn’t a big crowd and I was just in front of my family. Now I don’t do that as much, which has been the highlight for me.”
The pupils’ progress has been recognised outside of the school, with Mikeysline’s Allana Stables commenting: “Here at Mikeysline we are incredibly proud of The Charleston Academy Bee The Change Choir. To see them grow and blossom into what they are today is a true reflection of music being such an incredible outlet for all.
“Reflecting back to when they started out and the first performance it blows you away to see them today. They are a shining example of bee-ing the change, we are so proud of them all.”
Charleston Academy ASN teacher Emily MacQuarrie, who is the choir’s musical director, believes it has been a reflection of how vital music education is not just in schools, but for society as a whole.
“A choir really is that sense of belonging,” she said.
“You’re going out to these gigs, getting on stages and getting very nervous together, then sharing in succeeding with this special talent that they’ve got.
“If you have low self-esteem, and you stand up on a stage and manage to overcome that fear, then at the end of the performance you have a whole crowd going crazy for you, it is the best feeling.
“As a teacher, a lot of the work you put in, you don’t see immediate change from. This has been quite a remarkable change in the pupils, and as a teacher that is very inspirational and motivating to keep going.
“It puts a spotlight on music – which is often shunned as one of the ‘lesser’ subjects, or not as important. Actually, it’s vital, not just for dexterity and brain function but also for a sense of community.
“You get that in sports teams, but that’s quite a competitive environment, so within a choir there is just community. I think that’s lost in our society as a whole, so that’s why I think it is so sought after because humans need to feel like they are part of something, like they belong.
“It should be Highland-wide. Every secondary school should have a choir that is for children to feel they belong, and primary schools as well I would say.”
Charleston Academy deputy head Helen Hunter, who also sings with the choir, added: “We are creating a sense of belonging in school, and that really is where these relationships are so powerful.
“Usually being a senior leader, when you’re walking through the corridors you’re usually giving kids a telling off, but these kids are shouting ‘hi’. We’ve had really big success with youngsters who were disaffected, and now they are blossoming with strong friendships.
“It’s not being different, it’s being exceptional. In the busy-ness of this job, it’s one of the things I get the most pleasure out of.
“You can write a timetable, you can do a referral, but actually getting hands-on work done with kids is different.
“We have seen kids progress and grow, which we’re really delighted with. I think it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve done in a long time.”
