Our Lady’s RC Primary School pupils teamed up with Dundee singer-songwriter Be Charlotte to create a unique school song that incorporates Makaton.
Pupils are “fun, free and who they want to be” as they celebrate their strong community spirit in the Hilltown of Dundee.
Charlotte Brimner, known by her stage name Be Charlotte, was selected by Dundee Rep to deliver bespoke music experiences to six city schools as part of the This Is For You Dundee (Schools) initiative.
It kept youngsters engaged in music throughout the pandemic when activities such as singing and playing instruments were restricted.
And the song embodies the school values by using Makaton – a unique language that combines symbols, sign and speech – to allow all pupils to sing the anthem.
At their first song-writing session with Be Charlotte, P6 and P7 pupils told the musician they wanted to create their own school song.
Cory Stewart, a P7 pupil, said: “Be Charlotte took our suggestions and she went away and came back with a really good song.
“It was nice and upbeat and had the good tempo that we wanted. It was perfect and we all thought it was really cool.”
Mimidoo Abwl, P6, said her favourite part of the song was singing about her school’s values.
Be Charlotte was really keen to be part of the project as she is passionate about helping young Dundonians discover music in the way that she did.
She said: “I love being able to hopefully inspire other young people to get into music and to also use their own thoughts and feeling and put them into a song.
Be Charlotte, the school and pupils on working together:
“For me that has been the most helpful thing and even if I can encourage just one other young person to do that then that’s amazing.”
Lorna Dashwood, head teacher, said the bespoke song allows the school to celebrate their identity.
She added: “To listen to our children singing the song with those meaningful words and performing together with Be Charlotte, who is an inspiration to our children, I can only say that as head teacher I am very proud of each and every one of them.
“We are very proud of our school community but we are equally as proud of the strong community of the Hilltown of Dundee which we are part of.
“This song will be a legacy for Our Lady’s for many years to come.”
Jess Thorpe, associate director (Engage) of Dundee Rep, said: “The schools couldn’t have visiting performances (during the pandemic) so we wanted to put artists into school communities so they could respond to what the communities needed at that time.
“What is really exciting (about Be Charlotte) is she has got a developing music career and is a really exciting role model for young people from Dundee.
“She is really committed to working with young people in Dundee to show them about music and getting them inspired.
This is For You Dundee (Schools) is a project connecting artists with schools to deliver creative experiences that support the wellbeing of young people.@iambecharlotte will be working with 6 different schools across Dundee delivering bespoke Songwriting Workshops! pic.twitter.com/rePXSDdgQY
— Dundee Rep (@DundeeRep) December 4, 2021
“We are really excited about all of the different ways that artists can work with our community in Dundee and all the different collaborations that we can support.
“It’s really exciting that young people collaborated with Be Charlotte and came up with something so inspiring.”
