Song for Christmas 2024 Winner Announced

Salisbury Radio have announced the winner of Song for Christmas 2024.

The local radio station for Salisbury, South Wiltshire and West Hampshire ran the festive song competition for a third year and had more schools than ever signed up to take part. 

Schools from all over the area, from Netheravon to Breamore, took part, and 23 songs were played in the run-up to Christmas. 

Salisbury Radio also hosted two Song for Christmas Carol Concerts at Sarum Academy, with over 300 primary-aged children combining to sing together to an audience of family, friends and school staff.

Salisbury's Mayor, Cllr Sven Hocking, and its MP, John Glen, attended the concerts and joined in with a festive sing-along. 

Each of the songs has been made available to download individually as they have featured on the radio, with all 23 now available to purchase for just £5. The proceeds of downloads, plus money raised at the concerts, will be donated to Salisbury Foodbank. 

The 23 songs were judged blind by our panel of judges, all ex-Headteachers from the local area. Anne Munns, Jan Paterson, Jenny Vokes, Joy Wagstaff, and Sandra Crook listened to the songs, unaware of which school was responsible for the performance, giving them a score out of ten. 

With the competition standards higher than ever, they found it impossible to separate four school's songs. Bemerton St John's version of 'Joy to the World', Hale & Hyde's rendition of 'The First Noel', Pitton's 'It Was on a Starry Night' and St Nicholas in Porton's 'I Will Rejoice' all scoring the same. 

To break the tie-break, the four songs were sent back to the judges so they could rank with their top three. All four school's songs picked up votes, but two songs became clear as the judge's favourites. 

Pitton Primary School were the runners-up. They are previous winners from 2022 and collect £150 in book vouchers. 

Hale and Hyde Primary Schools are the Song for Christmas champions for 2024. The two small primary schools on the edge of the New Forest combined their choirs to perform 'The First Noel,' which the judges loved. The performance was equally well received at the Carol Concerts. 

Tracy Allen, the Executive Headteacher at the Forest Edge Learning Federation, which includes Breamore Primary and Hale and Hyde Primary Schools, said, "It's going to mean so much; they are going to be beyond excited. Hyde is a really small school; the fact that they have been able to join up with Hale is absolutely amazing. 

"It makes me so proud. We sing every Friday at the celebration assembly, and the children absolutely love singing."

Listen to the moment the winners were announced:

As winners, Hale & Hyde Primary Schools will receive £250 in book vouchers. The Salisbury Radio team will visit them in early January and present them with the Song for Christmas trophy. 

Andy Munns said, "This year's Song for Christmas has been incredible. I feel very fortunate to have visited so many schools and recorded so many beautiful songs. I am always impressed by the talent shown at every school - we have some amazing singers in the area. 

"I want to thank each school for inviting me to record their songs and especially to the teachers and staff at each school for the time and effort they put into preparing their songs. It is clear a lot of time and thought goes into it. 

"The concerts this year were amazing. Fourteen schools came together across two nights, singing their socks off and blowing away the audience of family, friends and school staff. I haven't stopped feeling festive since."