MORE than a thousand people have signed a petition calling on East Lothian Council to scrap plans to charge up to £400 for pupils wanting to learn a musical instrument.

The council agreed to introduce instrumental music charges at schools as part of its budget in February.

And while the council insists that no figure has been agreed on the amount to charge, it has been claimed that consideration is being given to making the cost as high as £395 a year for pupils.

A petition launched on change.org has gathered nearly 1,500 signatures in just a week since it was launched last Monday.

The petition states: “East Lothian Council are proposing to charge £395 per year for pupils to learn a musical instrument in school.

“Education in state schools is free in Scotland and all aspects of it must remain so.

“There should be no barriers to education in any schools and financial barriers in state schools are unacceptable.

“The instrumental music service in East Lothian is an outstanding success.”

East Lothian Council said that a review of how instrumental music was delivered in its schools had been carried out and proposals would be going before councillors next month.

A spokesperson said: “Councillors will be meeting in June to discuss the proposed policy and decide what the new charges will be.

“It is important to emphasise that the level of charges has not yet been decided.

“Under the proposed new scheme, which is still being developed, concessions will apply – for example, there will be no charges for those who are eligible for free school meals, and students studying music for an SQA qualification will not have to pay.

“Discounts will also apply if there is more than one child in the family taking tuition.

“We are writing to all schools and parents this week to let them know that councillors are meeting in June to discuss the proposed policy and decide what the new charges will be.

“We will write to them again after this meeting, once it has been confirmed what the new charging policy will be.”

The petition can be found at change.org/p/east-lothian-council-stop-east-lothian-council-charging-395-for-musical-instrument-lessons-in-schools