Ed Sheeran guitar pays for Framlingham school's music centre

A music centre has opened at a school after an Ed Sheeran guitar was raffled off to help pay for it.

The instrument was designed for the musician's latest album = [Equals].

It raised £52,765 in a charity raffle, and went towards creating the SRH Music Ark, at Sir Robert Hitcham's Primary School in Framlingham - Sheeran's hometown in Suffolk.

Pupils thanked the artist, who now lives near the town, and said the new centre was a "beautiful place."

The acoustic guitar was raffled by Bury St Edmunds-based charity GeeWizz and was won by hospital worker Kellie Myers, from Ipswich, who bought a £5 raffle ticket.

Her two sons Henry, 14, and Jacob, 13, said she was "thrilled and delighted" with her prize and that the whole family "loved Ed".

Sheeran signed the guitar, personalising it with the message "Henry + Jacob! Play this guitar!"

Children at the state school said the building, filled with "amazing artwork", would be used for dancing, singing and it was a "really beautiful place to relax".

One pupil said: "It's such a privilege to have our own music space for our school and there's many thanks for Ed Sheeran and all his team."

Another said: "It's a really nice place to make music", while another told the BBC it was "very modern and a good upgrade".

Helen Picton, the school's head teacher, said: "We have a music pod that is open to all to our neurodivergent children, we have a disabled toilet so we can have disabled facilities for the children.

"Music is the heart of our school and to actually have this wonderful resource here is a very emotional thing.

"All our children, they can go in there, they can be calm, they can be excited, they can be inspirational, but they can start to heal after the pandemic we've been through."

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