National Choir Competition 2026
For the National Choir Competition 2026, we welcomed 1,000 young performers from school and community choirs from across the UK including Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Kent.
Applications will open in September for next year’s event, we hope you’ll be part of it!
- Event date(s):
- 3 March 2026
What is the National Choir Competition?
The National Choir Competition is the biggest community and school choir competition in the UK, and we want you to be part of it! It’s a wonderful opportunity to celebrate music and showcase young people’s talents whilst raising money to go towards our work helping young people feel safer, happier, healthier, and more hopeful.
We want to hear from choirs from across the music spectrum, to be part of something special.
What is the event like?
For the 2026 National Choir Competition, we welcomed 1,000 young performers from school and community choirs from across the UK including Northern Ireland, Wales, Scotland, and Kent! 1,000 supporters watched as choirs performed before our wonderful panel of judges: Dan Ludford-Thomas, Rob Elliot, Lucy Hollins, Chris Cummings, and Audrey Lawrence Mattis.
We raised over £40K which will go towards our work with children and young people to help them feel safer, happier, healthier, and more hopeful.
Applications will open in September for next year’s event, we hope you’ll be part of it!
Winners of the National Choir Competition 2026
Congratulations to our winners of this year’s National Choir Competition!
Junior Competition
Creative Interpretation Award (awarded to a choir that demonstrates the most original and imaginative approach to their repertoire)
- Winner: Thomas’s Clapham Chapel Choir, “I’ll Tell Me Ma”
- Runner Up: Young Notes Junior, “Symphony”
Judges Distinction Award (awarded to a choir that delivers an outstanding performance, exception technical ability, and a strong connection with the audience)
- Winner: Hereford Cathedral Junior School, “Cockroaches!”
- Runner Up: The Pointer School Chamber Choir, “Humpty Dumpty”
Grand Prize for Musical Excellence (awarded to the overall winner, honouring the choir with the highest level of musical excellence and performance across both pieces)
- Winner: Gray’s Inn Singers, City Junior School
- Runners Up: Perfect Pitch Training Choir
Pictured below from left to right: Thomas’s Clapham Chapel Choir, Hereford Cathedral Junior School, and Gray’s Inn Singers, City Junior School
Senior Competition
Creative Interpretation Award
- Winner: Wrekin College Chapel Choir, “Balleilakka”
- Runner Up: Tring Park School for the Performing Arts Girls Choir, “I got Rhythm”
Judges Distinction Award
- Winner: Romsey Youth Choir, “Time”
- Runner Up: Bishops Singers, “Voices of Oceans”
Grand Prize for Musical Excellence
- Winner: South Hampstead High School Chamber Choir
- Runner Up: Cardiff High School Chamber Choir
Pictured below from left to right: Wrekin College Chapel Choir, Romsey Youth Choir, and South Hampstead High School Chamber Choir.
Competition format
Age categories
There are two age categories:
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Junior - up to and including 13 years (as of 3 March).
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Senior - up to and including 18 years (as of 3 March).
Preliminary round
Choirs were invited to submit two pieces of contrasting musical style for adjudication by our panel of judges. From these pieces, the judges chose 16 Junior and 14 Senior Choirs to go through to the Grand Final.
Grand Final
16 Junior Choirs and 14 Senior Choirs were selected to compete at the Grand Final on Tuesday 3 March at Birmingham Symphony Hall.
Judges were looking for the best overall choirs, taking into consideration both the musical excellence and creative performance on the day.
There were two separate competitions with the Junior competition taking place during the day and the Seniors competition during the evening.
All choirs sat in the auditorium and performed before a live audience.
Musical styles
We judged performances on musical excellence, including technical skill and a high standard of singing performance as well as creativity, interpretation, and performance.
We are keen to encourage a wide range of musical styles, we want to see what your choir can do!
We welcome anything from classical to musical theatre, gospel to a sea shanty - the sky’s the limit.
Awards
Prizes were awarded as follows:
- Grand Prize for Musical Excellence - The overall winner, this prize honours the choir with the highest level of musical excellence and performance across both pieces. The winning choir will exhibit superior vocal technique, ensemble unity, interpretative depth and overall professionalism.
- Judges Distinction Award - The choir that delivers an outstanding performance, showing exceptional technical ability, expressive musicality and a strong connection with the audience. This award recognises choirs that captivate both judges and listeners through their performance presence and skill.
- Creative Interpretation Award - The choir that demonstrates the most original and imaginative approach to their chosen repertoire. Judges will look for unique arrangements, inventive staging and artistic risk-taking that brings fresh perspective to the music.
Runners-up prizes were awarded in each category.
The winning choirs awarded the Grand Prize for Musical Excellence in the Junior and Senior competition are invited to attend Barnardo’s Young Supporters’ Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2026.
Get involved
Thinking about other ways you could get involved to support children and young people across the UK?
Previous National Choir Competitions
We've been running the National Choir Competition for over 17 years now! Look back at some of the previous winners and choirs involved below.
Our Annual Report
Getting involved with events like the National Choir Competition has a big impact on children and young people all over the UK.