Award-winning double bassist Chinyere “Chi-chi” Nwanoku has officially opened Hackney New Primary School’s new building.

Chi-chi, who was awarded an OBE for services to music two years ago, led a workshop with the school's young double bass players in the specialist music room named after her.

Pupils at the specialist music school have been taught in porta-cabins since it opened four years ago but relocated to its new building in Downham Road in September on the former Kingsland Fire Station site.

Chi-chi said: "At a time when the arts are being eroded from the national curriculum and local authority funding is being withdrawn from music hubs, Hackney New Primary is bucking that trend. It has rightly recognised that music is and should always be central to a child's development as a tool for self-expression."

She continued: "It teaches us not only to be creative and imaginative but also to listen and collaborate effectively with others. It enriches lives on so many levels, and we owe it to future generations to safeguard their right to access and understand music and the joys of music-making."