National Choir Competition 2026

There are two age categories:  

• Junior - up to and including 13 years (as of 3rd March). 

• Senior - up to and including 18 years (as of 3rd March). 

Choirs are invited to submit two pieces of contrasting musical style for adjudication by our panel of judges. From these pieces, the judges will choose 16 Junior and 14 Senior Choirs to go through to the Grand Final. 

Take a look at the preliminary round rules here.

16 Junior Choirs and 14 Senior Choirs will be selected to compete at the Grand Final on Tuesday 3 March at Birmingham Symphony Hall. 

Judges will be looking for the best overall choirs, taking into consideration both the musical excellence and creative performance on the day.  

There will be two separate competitions with the Junior competition taking place during the day and the Seniors competition during the evening.   

All choirs will sit in the auditorium and perform before a live audience. 

Check out the Grand Final rules here.

We will be judging 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. 

Prizes would be 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 will be awarded in each category.

The winning choirs awarded the Grand Prize for Musical Excellence in the Junior and Senior competition will be invited to attend Barnardo’s Young Supporters’ Concert at the Royal Albert Hall in November 2026.

How to pay your entry fee:

The entry cost is £45 per choir and should be paid via BACS to: 

Barclays 

Barnardo’s Society Account 

Account number: 90594229 

Sort code: 20-57-30 

Please use your choir’s name as the reference. 

How to send your competition recordings:

Please use WeTransfer to send your competition entry recordings to [email protected]. These should be sent as MP3 or video files and should be clearly labelled with your choir’s name. We encourage recordings to be done on a phone or equivalent to make it equitable for judges to assess entries against each other. Unfortunately, files cannot be sent directly as they will be rejected by our firewall.