A MOTHER from Abingdon is celebrating 20 years of entertaining Oxfordshire’s babies and toddlers with music.

Rachel Shearer, 48, runs the Busy Bees pre-school music groups in Headington, Oxford, and the villages of Harwell and Cumnor.

And every week, dozens of children and families fill her classes to enjoy singing, dancing and nursery rhymes.

But back in October 1980, Mrs Shearer did not think the classes would prove so popular.

The mother-of-three said: “It all started when I took my daughter to another music class when she was a baby.

“When I tried to go again, I found out they were full so I just got a few friends round to run my own session and it’s gone from there really.”

Mrs Shearer ran the Little Milton Music Group for five years, before moving to Oxford and setting up Doh-Ra-Me in Headington.

It eventually became Busy Bees and over the last two decades, she has led thousands of children and their families in music sessions.

So on Tuesday, she celebrated the last 20 years with cake and the ‘current batch’ of mums and children.

Mother-of two-Sarah Eddie, 37, from Headington Quarry, said: “Rachel is so great with the children. The songs stay with us for a long time on car journeys.”

  • For information, visit busybeesmusic.co.uk