Choir of the Year

Our Chamber Choir has won the Barnardo’s National Choir Competition – the biggest community and school choir contest in the UK.

More than 1000 children from across the UK took part in this year’s competition which helped to raise over £40,000 for Barnardo’s. As one of just 14 choirs awarded a place in the finals, 22 of our talented pupils in Year 10 and above were invited to perform at Birmingham Symphony Hall, where the standard of music-making was incredibly high. The choir performed Ēriks Ešenvalds’ Spring, the Sweet Spring, using wine glasses and birdsong to create a captivating, atmospheric soundscape that impressed the judges, alongside an electrifying performance of the traditional spiritual The Battle of Jericho. As overall winners, they were awarded the prestigious Grand Prize for Musical Excellence; our Chamber Choir now have the opportunity to perform at the Royal Albert Hall in November.

Later the same week, the choir ventured to Oxfordshire to compete in another national competition. Held on International Women’s Day, the Girls’ School Association (GSA) Choir of the Year Grand Final aims to celebrate girls taking to the stage and using their voices. Despite a trio of singers being thwarted by illness, the choir rallied to be crowned runners-up – a title we previously won in 2024.

Mrs Paul congratulated our pupils on their success: “Our Chamber Choir have shown tremendous tenacity and talent to win these awards. Earlier this academic year, our outstanding Music department was named as the best in the UK by The Week’s Independent Schools’ Guide, so to garner further national accolades of this calibre is an incredible achievement. We are especially proud to be amplifying young women’s voices and to part of the Barnardo’s competition which raises funds to bring hope to so many young people across the country.”