good luck

according to big missy's music teacher, she had shown real progress in her piano lesson and its recommended that she sits for a formal exam. i was genuinely surprised by her achievement.

she started playing since she was 4 and when we moved here in 2006 (she was 6), we bought a piano but unfortunately she didnt take up any lessons. but she practised sometimes - ikut mood. she decided to take up horse riding instead and her one hour private lesson cost us >£20 per week. so another £20 per week on piano lesson was a bit too much to spend on just one child. financial constraint aside, time was also one of the factors. we didnt want to rush her here & there just like what we did back home. if she had 1 hour riding & 1 hour piano lesson on the same day, she would be exhausted and we couldnt go anywhere!!

when she was at primary school, ada lah once or twice she played the piano for  the school but she learned how to play flute and participated in few performances organised by Nottingham Music School. and when she started secondary school last september, we were so happy that the music department offers piano lessons; fee for 20 minutes/week private lessons cost around £40 per term. and she had made good progress, been practising regularly (sebab ada homework) and played some classical songs really well.

she will sit for ABRSM (Associated Board Royal School of Music) exam in the summer term ie after easter break. due to large number of students anticipated to sit for the exam (for other musical instruments too), the examiner will come to her school.

i hope she does well in the exam. i know i will 'kena kutuk' after this sebab i'm planning for her future far too early but, if she wants to go to top notch unis, she not only has to excel academically (minimum 3 As in A level)  but also she has to do well in any kind of sports AND knows how to play musical instrument.

if you want to know, COWI (cambridge, oxford,warwick & imperial college) only accept students with 500 points = 5As for relevant subjects + sports + music...