Monday evening saw 27 intrepid choristers head up to Birmingham for the annual Young Voices concert.

The basic premise is this: practice hard for several months under the expert guidance of Miss Brakspear and Mrs Lowe; get yourself a t-shirt and a torch; get yourself to the Birmingham NEC; have the most fun you possibly could have singing your songs with 6000 others and a full professional cast; crash into bed at midnight!

Young Voices is advertised as ‘the largest youth choir in the world’, and it certainly feels that way as you take your seats to make up the 6250-strong choir. When you start rehearsing during the afternoon, and find that you will be singing with The Shires, with (‘The Voice’ winner) Ruti, and with the legend that is Tony Hadley, it really starts to blow your mind. When the parents start filtering in just before 7.00pm, the whole thing takes on the air of a professional gig – which is exactly what it turns out to be. By the end your parents are up dancing in the aisles along with the Urban Strides street dance crew, impressing their children with their moves!

We had such a wonderful afternoon and evening with a great group of children and their supportive staff and parents. Thank you to all who participated in any way, but especially to Mr McGrath for the administration of the trip, and to Miss Brakspear and Mrs Lowe for rehearsing the choir over the past few months. There are a few pictures below, and a couple of videos (to come) in the music section.