Andy Munns
Pupils from Winterslow Primary School performed at Wembley Arena at the start of the month, along with pupils from hundreds of other schools.
Twenty-seven pupils from the school participated in the Young Voices concert at Wembley Arena on 1st February in what they described as ‘an amazing experience’.
Young Voices are concerts that take place in huge arenas around the country, with school choirs coming together to form a huge mass choir, singing together for the audience.
The school applied to take part last year and were accepted as part of a plan to grow the school’s choir. They wanted the children to get involved in extracurricular activities other than sports and help foster a love of music.
The choir grew from a handful of children, and excitement was building until the cost of transport to the concert was discovered, which initially looked prohibitive, so they almost didn’t go.
Unstepped a generous parent, who helped cover the substantial cost of transporting the children and five staff members to the concert through their company, SA Group.
The children enjoyed an amazing but long day in London, arriving in time for the 2 pm rehearsals before performing in the evening and arriving back in Winterslow, via road closures and roadworks, at 1 am in the morning.
As well as performing as a mass choir with thousands of other children, they were also entertained by other performers, including young drumming sensation Nandi Bushell, who famously drum battled with Dave Grohl of Foo Fighters.
There was lots of work involved, including lots of songs in advance, but teacher Jody Monk says it was all worth it. “It was the most amazing experience; it’s the best school trip that I have ever been on in my teaching career.
“Watching the children be so involved, being in a big arena with all the other schools, was an amazing experience. The kids haven’t stopped talking about it since.”
