Our History
Winnall Rock School was created in 2004 with the backing of local councils and Youth Music to fill a gap in local music education by providing free band workshops for young people (aged 10-17) who couldn’t afford conventional music tuition or access the music curriculum delivered by local schools.
Initially based in our current building (Unit 12), then run by the King Alfred Youth Activity Centre (Kayac), we moved to Winnall Primary School in 2006. In 2011, we returned to Kayac when two fantastic sound-proofed pod studios were built for us by a local acoustics company (IAC).
Over this time, we built a reputation for delivering high quality music workshops and with an increasing focus on having a positive impact on the wellbeing and mental health of our members’ lives. As well as creating original songs for our two annual shows in Winnall and at the Theatre Royal Winchester, we also devised projects in partnership with other youth and music groups.
We became a registered charity in 2014 to support our ambitions, attract other funders / supporters and make-up for the large drop in local authority financial support. This led to a widening of the musical and educational experiences for our members by running workshops or performing at Boomtown, Alresford Music Festival, Winchester Hat Fair, The Great Hall, Naomi House and Unit 12.
We also started providing workshops and outreach sessions with local care providers such as Leigh House Hospital and Naomi House & Jacksplace Hospice and developing new social opportunities for budding adult musicians.
Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic forced us to dismantle our pod studios
and restructure our workshops to use one larger working space at Unit 12.
However, we have continued to serve around 25 young people each year and
many more within one-off or short programme events.
In 2026, we also made the big decision to introduce charges to those who can
afford our services but still support access to those who can’t.
The WRS story continues!