Yesterday, I was lucky enough to sit in a lunchtime Senior Choir rehearsal. Without a doubt, it was one of the highlights of the week. I was delighted to see the club has grown in numbers hugely and to see the students commit to their performance with such focus and enjoyment.

The benefits on brain functioning of learning music and playing a musical instrument have long been recognised and have moved from the anecdotal to the substantial, thanks to the use of MRI in research over the last 40 years. There is considerable evidence that playing a musical instrument is a cognitively challenging task that engages all parts of the brain, and with disciplined, structured practice, it strengthens brain functions, especially the visual, auditory, and motor ones.