Tim Costello: Music BA(Hons) graduate
Tim Costello graduated with a BA(Hons) in Music in 1993.
Two years after leaving Dartington Tim began teaching at Ringmer Community College in Lewes, East Sussex. He has now been head of the music department for 13 years and at the school for 15 years. He works continually to introduce as many of his students as possible to the wider world, not least by persuading the international opera star, Kiri Te Kanawa to become a patron of the school.
Thanks to Tim, Ringmer CC is a school where over 50% of the pupils play an instrument, at a time when the national average is 6%. There is also an extensive range of bands and choirs providing several concerts a year for the local community and also put on regular school musicals.
In addition, Tim organises music tours to Europe and beyond, with major undertakings that require year-long planning. One hundred and twenty students travelled with him to Australia in 2005, with four tonnes of musical equipment, and in Easter 2007, eighty-five students went on tour to the USA.
Tim firmly believes that music is not just for the talented minority, but for everyone regardless of background or ability. He tries to broaden the musical tastes of all his students by taking them to a variety of concerts and performances including many visits to Glyndebourne Opera House, which is only 5 minutes away from his school. He has also helped to develop younger music staff in their teaching skills such as world percussion and DJ-ing, and he co-ordinates a team of 21 peripatetic instrumental teachers. Music is a popular subject at GCSE at Ringmer with an average of 50 pupils taking it yearly, with outstanding results.
In 2007, Tim won the Guardian Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School in the South East region. One of the awards judges said of Tim, ‘He has inspired a generation of musicians in his area and we are sure he will do so for years to come.' Tim is now a Judge for the Teaching Awards and relishes the opportunity to visit other secondary schools to watch exemplary teaching practices taking place.
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