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Welcome To

Winnall 
Rock  School

We are a Rock School for Winchester delivering free, high quality music workshops supporting our members’ welfare and mental health.

we have passionate tutors, technical equipment and a variety of instruments.  Coordinated by a professional music leader, volunteer musicians coach and support young people to write, sing and play their own songs. 

Making Music 
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Changing Lives
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Summer Show 2025: Twenty One!

Theatre Royal Winchester 

Come and see us in action at our Summer Show at the Theatre Royal Winchester

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Empowering Youth
Through Music

Join us at Winnall Rock School, a place where young individuals in Rocking Winchester can discover the magic of music. We offer free workshops and resources to inspire and nurture their talents. We welcome young people (aged 10-17) with all levels of ability to work in our lively, creative, inclusive and supportive atmosphere. We prioritise those with less access to such opportunities or who need additional support.

We offer students two live gigs each year to express themselves, build confidence and find a sense of achievement. We support young people and adults, to explore and develop their musical interests without reading and writing musical scores. Our strength comes from our vetted volunteers who give their love, time and talents to help our programmes. 

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Our Values & Approach

We judge our impact and success against our motto.

We also set standards on Behaviour and Attitude for all our members to focus on music-making, show a positive, can-do attitude and support others to do this too. 

Making Music 

Improving music skills, knowledge and contributing to songwriting and playing together in a band.  

Changing Lives

Gaining social skills, the confidence and mindset to truly be (and able to express) yourself.

How to Join Us

We welcome young people with all levels of ability to work in our lively, inclusive and supportive atmosphere.

Any young person aged 10-17 can access our free services, but we give priority to those who :

  • Are eligible for Pupil Premium / free school meals

  • Are Registered Disabled or have an Education Health Care Plan

  • Have Special Educational Needs

  • Are a Young Carer

  • Have musical ambitions outside the exam-focused music curriculum within schools

  • Have other health or social circumstances which limit their opportunity to take part in less supportive music provision. 

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Our Main Offer 

FREE TUESDAY BAND WORKSHOPS

We currently run three sessions on Tuesdays for three, 10-week terms throughout the year.

These sessions are led by Chris Redmond and a team of brilliant local volunteer tutors with a range of experience. Any child aged 10-17 years in Winchester District is welcome to apply for a place on our FREE workshops.

These sessions lead to at least two annual showcase events;

  1. Our Summer Show at the Theatre Royal Winchester in July

  2. Our Christmas Show at a community venue.

Our Sessions

Our core service is our free band workshops for 10-17 year olds, held at Unit 12 in Winnall on Tuesday evenings. 

1. Rock One for School years 6 to 8.​

From 5.00pm – 6.15pm

2. Rock Two for School year 9 to 10. 

From 6.30pm – 7.45pm

3. Rock Three for School / College years 11 to 13.

From 8.00pm –  9.15pm

Other Services

We also run other music tuition and support services on an ad-hoc basis, including for 6-11-year-olds and 19-25s. 
Watch this space or our social media accounts for announcements of these.

Instrument Hire

We have a variety of Guitars, Ukes, Amps, Drums, Bass, Mics, Keys, plus all the leads which can be available for hire / loan at reasonable rates.

Try before you buy! We particularly support parents who don’t want to plunge into purchasing new gear for their children knowing that the craze to be a rock star may be a short-lived fascination. We sometimes sell our gear at competitive prices too.

** PLEASE NOTE.  WE NO LONGER HAVE STUDIOS FOR HIRE **

Our Governance

Code of Conduct

We set standards on Behaviour and Attitude for all our members to focus on music-making, show a can-do attitude and support others to do this too by being;

  • On time ready to make music

  • Friendly and supportive to others

  • Respectful of our studios, equipment and commitment

  • Responsive to tutor instructions and requests

We also have a Code of Conduct that sets a few ground rules that can be summarised by this phrase:

Respect 

  • Yourself

  • Each Other

  • Our Differences

  • Our Studios

  • Our Equipment

  • Our Music

If a tutor feels there is a problem with a member’s behaviour, we will speak to that person first. If issues continue, we will speak with their parents. If this is not resolved, we may ask the member to leave, either temporarily or permanently.

Keeping Safe

Looking after our physical and mental wellbeing is important to us. We recognise our responsibilities to our members and staff to ensure no harm happens to them when they are at WRS.

Our Health & Safety and Safeguarding Policies set out

– how our trustees, tutors and members should treat everyone with care and respect

– what to do if something goes wrong or if a child displays behaviours or other indicators of harm, abuse, etc, from outside our care.

We will contact other agencies including the local authority, the police or schools if a child is not safe  

We regularly monitor our practice and review our policies annually. We also liaise with independent professional advisers to check we comply with good practice.

Meet Our Instructors

 Please meet our wonderful instructors and fellow tutors who have a range of music playing, gigging, teaching, recording and life experiences to pass onto you. 

What Our Parents Say

Winnall Rock School is creating a wonderful time and space for my daughter who has recently gone through lots of mental health issues and been diagnosed with complex trauma and traits of ADHD. The support that Winnall Rock School have put in place for her has been immense, something that as a parent you will never forget.

XXXXX has had some complex needs and they have worked alongside myself and her school in terms of making sure she can keep her place. It’s helped her grow confidently in terms of singing, writing at home, and playing on her ukulele and keyboard. It’s helped bring her confidence out in performing in front of people.

HELP US /
GET INVOLVED

Help us fund our services for young people.​

With a ‘guitar string’ budget, we depend on the support of local people who have an interest in community, music and wellbeing.

Could you be a corporate sponsor or know someone that would like to support us?

Please contact us if you think you can help us in any way.

Donate your time as a trustee

Our trustees come from all walks of life with valuable professional, social and personal insights that help us with the planning, fundraising, monitoring and reviewing of our activities. They meet about six times a year. 

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We are grateful to all the organisations who have supported us with money, good-will, commissions, artistic collaboration and pro-bono support since 2004.

They have each helped enrich our offer.

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Alresford Music Festival
Financial awards and performance opportunities

Boomtown 
Financial Awards and artistic collaborations

Granary Creative Arts Centre 
Artistic collaborations

Hampshire County Council 
Grant and project funding

Hampshire Cultural Trust
Art project commissions

Naomi House & Jacksplace Hospices 
Outreach customer and music commissions

Local Surveyors Direct
Joint project collaborations

National Lottery Community Fund

Core service and project funding

Belgae Trust
Financial awards

Culverlands 
Pro bono printing

Drawnalism 
Pro bono artwork

Health Education England
Financial awards

IAC  
Donation of sound pod studios

Winchester Hub
Student project support

Youth Music Foundation
Grants and project funding

Eight Foundation
Grants and project funding

University of Winchester

Artistic collaborations and pro-bono support

Santander Foundation
Matched funding awards

Winchester City Council
Core grant and project funding

Play to the Crowd

Artistic collaborations and performance opportunities

Winchester Round Table
 Financial Awards

Winchester Youth Counselling
Joint project collaborations

Thinking Web
Grants and project funding

OUR SUPPORTERS

We are proud to have initiated and developed the Sound Winchester project with other local community music and voice groups.  Find out more about this here  www.soundwinchester.org.uk.

©2035 by Jada Fox. Powered and secured by Wix

Registered charity #: 1157302

Winnall Rock School, Unit 12, Winnall Valley Road,

Winchester, Hampshire, SO23 0LD

© 2025 Winnall Rock School

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