Instrument Hire

Instruments are available to hire from the Music Service for any children living or studying in Portsmouth.

Our hire rates are:

£45 per academic year for any child receiving lessons from Portsmouth Music Service or who attend a Portsmouth Music Hub Ensemble.

£60 per academic year for any child who lives and studies in Portsmouth.

If you are a school and wish to hire instruments, please contact us at portsmouthmusichub@portsmouthcc.gov.uk

Financial Support

We never want cost to be the barrier to a child who wants to learn music. We can arrange payment plans, and we also provide subsidies for those on income support. For more information about financial support, please take a look at our remissions policy.

Instrument Hire

Where those with parental responsibility hire instruments directly from the Music Service there is a 100% remission for those children who are looked after by PCC or who are in foster care on receipt of evidence from the Local Authority.

50% remissions are available to pupils on free school meals.

Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme

The Assisted Instrument Purchase Scheme (AIPS) enables students of local authority and academy schools to purchase musical instruments through their school net of VAT providing the sale to the student meets the criteria below:

• The instrument or item must be sold to the local authority or school and then supplied onto the student or their guardian;

• The student must be receiving state education;

• The instrument must be used as part of their musical tuition;

• The instrument must be appropriate to the student’s needs; and

• The price charged to the student for the purchase of the instrument must be at or below cost (please see VATGPB7815 for a definition).

For more information please contact your child’s school directly. For full details visit: https://www.gov.uk/hmrc-internal-manuals/vat-government-and-public-bodies/vatgpb7825