#2024

2024 was our 10th anniversary year.

We would like to thank all our loyal customers, businesses and organisations for your dedication and support.


#scratchinschool

The Class Cuts Scheme of Work continued operation across all the regional Hubs during 2024, however, there were no new Hub additions due to the introduction of the Music Hub Investment Programme spearheaded by the Department for Education and Arts Council England.

During this time, Leicestershire Music delivered a highly successful collaborative concept called The Space Scratch Symphony. The piece was composed by Elizableth Kelly and world champion turntablist Jon1st - scored for symphony orchestra, three-part chorus and turntables. 

With turntablism now rooted into the education system, we look forward to more cross-working collaborations like this.

The aforementioned Music Hub Investment Programme is for England only. 

Musical Instruments, Equipment and Technology Framework.

There are now structured Hub Lead Organisations (HLO's) who are the 'buyers' and approved suppliers, known as 'sellers'. The suppliers on the Framework, including ourselves, can be found here.

The items which can be purchased from this framework, have been categorised into the following lots, which includes instruments and items which have been specifically developed or adapted for use by children and young people with SEND.

Lot 1: Acoustic instruments Instruments that do not require electricity, amplification, or technology to produce a sound.

Lot 2*: Amplified, electric and digital musical instruments Instruments and equipment that produce or modify sound through electric, electronic, or digital means.

Lot 3*: Other technology and equipment used to enable or support music-making additional equipment and software needed to produce, amplify, augment, or record sound. This includes additional equipment, accessories, or software that can be used in conjunction with, or to support the use of, items outlined in other lots.

* Class Cuts/Turntablism



#cutcrosscountry

During 2024, Arts Council England approved funding for the second delivery of the Cut Cross Country project. The aim of the project was to provide turntablism and beat making workshops for Visually Impaired (VI) students. Three weekly workshops were delivered during the year in Birmingham, Hereford and Loughborough.  Feedback from the workshops was well received and we will continue to build on this initiative in 2025.

“Staff and children alike can’t speak highly enough about the iPads and Turntables. The children have been talking all week about when can we get the programmes used on our iPads and when will we be doing the lessons again!”  Priestley Smith Specialist School

"Being able to offer the students the opportunity to learn the basics of turntablism gave the students a real sense of achievement, having discovered something that was so accessible to them. Students specifically said that the sessions were comfortable and relaxed, as you were really encouraging and understanding towards their needs. Every student who had a session left feeling accomplished and very grateful for the opportunity. We are so grateful for the equipment (two turntables and two sets of headphones) and the resources left with us with to make this possible. It was a fantastic week and I really hope we get the opportunity to work together in the future." The Royal National College for the Blind

"All the students that have gone to the music workshop from my sessions have come back buzzing! They have really enjoyed it, some have been unsure about going but when they get back they are really pleased they went. The staff that have supported our students in the workshop and have all really enjoyed it too and was happy that our students have enjoyed . One student can find it very difficult to focus on activities and becomes distracted easily, particularly when doing new things that causes his anxiety to rise. He also will move around and talk most of the time and is rarely quiet. However staff fed back that when using the equipment in the session the student became calm and quiet and was able to focus on using the turntables and iPad app, listening to instructions and focusing on the sounds that he was creating." Sense Hub



#beatgeek

Beetgeek 2024 took place from 5th – 8th September at the Hop Kingdom, London. We are grateful for the support and funding from Arts Council England, Westend DJ, Reloop, JetPack, Jesse Dean Designs, Ortofon and RCF. 

There were various activities, performances and events including:


Portablist Lounge

The successful establishment of the Battle For Free Passage (BFFP) has supported the growth of Portablist Lounge to finally become an official World Finals in Portablism. BFFP allows Portablist Lounge to attract overseas competitors, to come to London and battle for the Championship. Regional winners from the Americas, Europe/Middle East & Africa, plus the Asia Pacific are selected.

The funding secures the Battle For Free Passage operation and finances the three regional winners travel and accommodation to compete at Portablist Lounge. This valuable sponsorship supported the following overseas competitors; DJ Straps from the United States, DJ Crabees  from France and DJ Samu from Japan.

The two-day event hosted by World Champions Ritchie Ruftone (UK), DJ Prolifix (US) and DJ Odilon (FR) witnessed many entries with both UK and International competitors. Beat-boxing performances and support was provided by Beatfox.

Back2Back DJ Battle

We successfully hosted the last heat of the annual Back2Back DJ Battle at Beatgeek 2024. This is a year-long competition with four qualifying tournaments and a grand-finale, with the aim to find London's next up-and-coming DJs. 



#turntabletrainingwax

Business as usual.

In 2025 we are planning to manufacture our own branded headphones, tailored for young people in schools and the open market. New vinyl releases will also be scheduled.

For shipping, we are potentially migrating all UK post to DHL. Further updates to follow.

In relation to #cutcrosscountry and #beatgeek projects for 2025, we are considering applications to Arts Council England for their continued support.


Have a fantastic leap into 2025.

As always, many thanks for supporting TTW!


#TTW #scratchinschool #beatgeek #portablistlounge #2024 #community

#2025