A 14-year-old Warrington music student has achieved a distinction in all Eight Grade examinations on keyboard – and Grade 8 is the highest examination there is!
Harvey Farrell’s achievement has amazed teachers at Presto Music School, where he has been studying for nine years.
His tutor, Amber Scott, said: “Completing Grade 8 at the age of 14 is a phenomenal achievement in itself – not to mention passing each exam before this to the highest level.
“I’m insanely proud of how far he’s come and I know he has such a bright future in performing ahead of him.”
Harvey said: “When I started my journey I had no idea what I was going to achieve and I just wanted to play pop songs to impress my friends. But instantly I caught a bug for playing and knew what I wanted to do and that was to pass all eight grades.
“It was a tough ask but it shows that the hard work truly does pay off and I have to thank my teacher, Amber Scott for all her work and I wouldn’t have achieved this without her guiding me through.”
Harvey’s achievement is all the more remarkable because some of his lessons had to be done remotely because of the pandemic.
Presto School director said: “In addition to following Harvey’s progression through the school with great interest, I had the pleasure of working with him in one of our Summer School band sessions.
“This is where the Presto students form groups over a week of fun and in-depth coaching from our tutors, ready for a huge live gig at the end of the week. As ever, all the students threw themselves into the event with great results.
“The speed at which Harvey learnt his pieces and pushed their difficulty was fantastic. In particular though, it was great to see how Harvey was always so helpful in assisting his band mates like a true team-player. “
