It was introduced on June 1 that Oxford youth music group Encourage Sounds has achieved Different Schooling accreditation, permitting it to supply formal {qualifications} to younger individuals aged 12 to 25.
This certification permits members to earn a acknowledged qualification whereas writing, performing and producing music. This combines inventive improvement with a transparent development route and represents a outstanding step for a corporation that blends skilled music manufacturing with structured youth actions.
This milestone arrived with IN THE MIX: Quantity 1, the group’s first compilation. The album is a 12-track file written and recorded by the members and was launched on Might 28, 2026. The album spans rap, R&B, and digital manufacturing and will likely be streamed on Bandcamp, with donations funding future studio periods.
Working professionals mentor younger individuals on the group’s Park Finish Road studio. The group contains rapper Kemestry, producer Sam Mansell, who has labored with Warner Music and Oxford College, British hip-hop artist Evolusian, and founder and director Kingsley Boyden.
Boyden framed the mission across the members’ eventual independence. “If they do not want us anymore, that is successful,” he stated.
Since its founding in 2020, In-Spire Sounds has supported over 250 younger individuals throughout Oxfordshire every year by means of workshops in rap, R&B, digital music, songwriting, beatmaking and manufacturing.
The group bases its mannequin on analysis. In accordance with Youth Music’s 2024 Sound of the Subsequent Era report, 71 p.c of younger individuals imagine music is an enormous a part of who they’re, and 70 p.c say it helps them really feel extra linked to others.
The initiative will even broaden entry to inventive industries for younger individuals from low-income, ethnic minority and incapacity communities. It’s positioning itself as a preventative measure for these susceptible to dropping out of college, in mild of nationwide information exhibiting rising psychological well being wants amongst individuals aged 16 to 24.
