On Sunday 8 March, we were incredibly proud to see our Chamber Choir win the Girls’ Schools Association (GSA) Senior Choir of the Year 2026; a triumph in a very competitive field, and a very fitting way to celebrate International Women’s Day.
A highly prestigious annual event for all schools in the GSA, there was a preliminary video entry round before the final, where the six best choirs were selected to perform. This year, the event was held at St Helen and St Katharine School in Abingdon, and judged by three expert musicians in the choral field:
🎶 Dr Charlotte Exon (Director of Music at St Helen & St Katharine)
🎶 Holly Mathieson (Artistic Advisor of Symphony Nova Scotia in Canada and conductor, acclaimed across opera, ballet, and symphonic repertoire)
🎶 Dr Charles Béquignon-Macdougall (ABRSM Consultant, Director and Trustee of the Choral Foundation of His Majesty’s Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace, Creative Director of Gabrieli Roar, Musical Director of Trinity Laban Conservatoire Chamber Choir).
Performing two challenging pieces, ‘Nella Fantasia’ (Morricone arr. Neaum) and ‘Dancing Song’ (Kodaly), the Chamber Choir were praised for their beautiful vocal lines, clear diction and animated delivery. After ‘Dancing Song’, one of the judges said that they simply wrote ‘Wow!’
Our Director of Music, Mrs Chris Clarke said, “I’m absolutely thrilled with our girls’ performance on Sunday. Not only did they impress the judges with their musicality and technique, most importantly it was their love and passion for singing that shone through.”
We’re so grateful to Mrs Clarke, and our Choir Director, Mrs Hales, for their inspirational teaching and encouraging our singers to continue to challenge themselves.
This award cements our reputation as one of the leading schools for music and the performing arts in the region, continuing our proud tradition of turning out female trailblazers in the industry, including Indu Rubasingham, Dame Rosemary Squire, Sudha Kheterpal, Zoe Brookshaw and Clare Hammond.
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