Edinburgh music school sees surge in lesson cancellations due to cost of living

Morningside School of Music is experiencing a surge in lesson cancellations - with students citing the cost of living as the reason.

The owners of the Edinburgh-based school said several pupils had stopped their music lessons in the last fortnight as a result of the crisis.

These students told the school that they had to choose between affording increases in energy bills and other household items, or continuing to learn a musical instrument.

A new study by Which? found that food and energy will now cost Scots an extra £1,100 a year.

Linda Boyd, director of Morningside School of Music, said: “We’ve never had so many cancellations by people all citing the same reason.

“Several students in the last couple of weeks have said to us that they simply can’t afford lessons while all these other rises are going on.

“It’s pretty clear that some are having to choose between the basic cost of living and being able to learn a musical instrument.

Morningside School of Music has seen a surge in lesson cancellations in response to the cost of living crisis.

“That’s extremely worrying for the individuals involved, and really sad for society that such choices are having to be made.”

The school, which teaches a range of musical instruments to around 900 students across the east of Scotland, is worried that the cost of living crisis poses a threat to the arts industry.

Ms Boyd added: “With costs of energy bills and everything else going up so much, there is a fear that many simply won’t be able to afford things like music lessons, or even going out to the theatre or a concert.

“The sector has only just got over the Covid pandemic, and many businesses reliant on the arts didn’t come back from that.

Some children may be forced to quit learning a music instrument due to the rise in the cost of living.

“It seems the cost-of-living crisis could bring yet more challenges.”

The director of Morningside School of Music, which teaches children as young as four, is also concerned about the impact the crisis will have on young people and their academic achievement.

She said: “This could also have a negative impact on education.

“It’s been repeatedly shown that young people who learn a musical instrument then perform better academically in other key areas.

“If families are having to cut down on this, there could be longer-term concerns too.”