Restore the Music UK

Restore the Music UK, a national charity established in 2013 and registered as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation in 2017, advances music education for young people in socio-economically deprived UK state schools. Co-founded by Gordon Singer and led by CEO Polly Moore, with Patron Lady Ella Windsor, it addresses austerity-driven cuts by providing capital grants for musical instruments and equipment, believing music fosters confidence, social mobility, and cohesion. Its lean, high-impact model has delivered over £2.6 million, 30,000 instruments to nearly 150 schools, reaching 110,000 children, with evidence-led targeting in London, Birmingham, Manchester, and Newcastle.

The funder supports exclusively non-fee-paying state primary (£10,000) and secondary (£20,000) schools serving high Free School Meals and Pupil Premium pupils, prioritising comprehensive music provision over token access. Grants enable department revitalisation, extra-curricular activities, and capacity-building; a Music Tech Grant is available only to prior grantees for technology upgrades. It funds capital investments in instruments and equipment to rebuild grassroots talent pipelines.

Eligibility is strictly invitation-only for UK state schools in deprived areas, identified via need indicators—no unsolicited applications, individuals, fee-paying schools, tuition, or non-school organisations. The multi-stage process starts with a pre-assessment form, followed by full applications for invited schools; no public deadlines, with adhoc decisions. Distinctive for its single-focus on capital music infrastructure, longitudinal school engagement, and rejection of revenue/project funding, it differentiates through precise deprivation targeting and transformative, rights-based philosophy for excluded children.