Wishing the Chamber Choir luck

We wish the Chamber Choir the best of luck in their quest to be chosen as the best senior school choir in the UK this weekend.

The 27 singers are drawn from the ranks of our Chapel Choir, and were selected as one of three secondary school finalists in "Celebrate!", the Songs of Praise annual school choirs contest.

They will compete for the title of ‘BBC Songs of Praise Senior School Choir of the Year’ against St Aidan’s Church of England High School, Harrogate and Methodist College, Belfast.

The final will be judged by Pete Waterman, of Pop Idol fame, Carrie Grant, a leading vocal coach who adjudicated on the BBC’s Fame Academy, and Malcolm Archer, organist at Wells Cathedral.

After the choirs give their final competition performances in front of the judges and away from the cameras, the BBC will film a Songs of Praise programme featuring all six finalist choirs (three are from primary schools) in front of a large audience. At the end of the filming process, the results of the competition will be announced "live" in front of the cameras. The edited programme will then be broadcast on Sunday 14 March 2004.

The pupils involved are: Sophie Auster, Sophie Baird, Susanna Battersby, Roselyn Brennan, Persephone Bridgman Baker, Frances Burn, Cecil Chow, Annabel Dale, Samuel Edwards, Joshua Edwards, Lindsey el-Beih, Michelle Gardener, Peter Gillespie, Eleanor Haslam, Thomas Haslam, Ruth Hewitt, Simon Lascelles, Oliver Lepage-Dean, Rahul Odedra, Ben Rowe, Catherine Sapsed, Elizabeth Stock, Nicholas Tate, Amy Thomas, Emma Walsh, Sara Walsh and Toby Wheatley.