DynamoNickev

We just use a hand held mic (Behringer XM5800 - cheap Shure SM58 clone, but very good for £13!) plugged directly into a 400W active speaker. The speaker also has a 3.5 mm aux input for running simultaneous audio from laptop, iPod etc. Added advantage of being able to use it anywhere in the school.

Why take them off? Leave them on, it's hardly expensive.

I couldn't believe this worked when I first tried it, but it works every time. Get a USB extension lead and plug in via that. Simple, and I have no idea why it works, but it does!

I have the same problem and don't have an answer, but I have found a temporary workaround. If you have an existing Sibelius file and click that to open Sibelius, rather than opening the software directly, it loads correctly - or at least it does here. From searching, it seems that a lot of people have this problem, but nobody has an answer!

Apply for tech jobs anyway. They are so low paid that sometimes they don't attract experienced applicants. At my last school we took somebody on and put them through relevant courses anyway, although they were not technically an apprentice