Junior pianist at Sheffield's Mylnhurst Preparatory School hits all the right notes

The 10-year-old, who is already at Grade 7, prefers playing football to tinkling the ivories, and lists Messi over Mozart as his hero.

But the Mylnhurst Preparatory School pupil is obviously doing something right – he has just come back from Oxford University where he represented his school in one of the most prestigious music competitions in the country.

Takuma, who lives in Crookes, was one of only 30 children from across the UK to play in the ISA Young Musician Competition.

He made the final out of thousands of children from 692 schools, performing on a Steinway concert grand piano in the prestigious Jacqueline du Pré Music chamber music building of St Hilda’s College.

Although he took sheet music to the competition, he didn’t need it. He knows his piece – a lightning-fast Baroque work called Le Coucou, The Cuckoo, by 18th century composer Louis-Claude Daquin – off by heart.

Mum Mari, aged 44, laughed: “Getting Takuma to practise his piano is really a struggle! He is reluctant – we have to ask him at least five times to sit down and do it.

“He used to practise a lot, about two hours a day during Covid.

“But at the moment he is much more into his football, and it is normally just 10 minutes of piano a day.”

Liverpool fan Takuma only took up the piano four years ago, aged six, and within two years had passed his Grade 5 exam with distinction aged just eight.

He has skipped past Grade 6 without an exam, and will sit his Grade 7 assessment in a few weeks’ time.

Brother Shohei, aged 12, passed his Grade 8 piano exam with distinction last year.

Neither of the boys’ parents are musical. Mari learned the basics of piano when she was a child, but gave up playing after only a few years.

Instead she says the credit goes to Sheffield Music Academy, where Takuma and Shohei study every Saturday, and Mylnhurst Prep where Takuma is in Year 5.

The leading independent primary school, on Button Hill in Ecclesall, has just been accredited as a Music Mark School – an award in recognition of its investment in, and commitment to, music education for all pupils.

Art and Music Coordinator Fran Bray said: “Music and creativity are such an important part of our curriculum here at Mylnhurst and have a profound impact on the learning environment.

“So much of the evidence we submitted to attain the Music Mark would not have been possible without the extraordinary talents of our pupils.”

Mylnhurst headteacher Mike Hibbert said: “It is a huge accomplishment for Takuma to have reached the competition – he was one of only 10 primary school age children who played. We are so, so proud of him.”