Lancashire Primary School ‘Last Choir Singing’ competition held for first time since pandemic

The Last Choir singing competition, featuring hundreds of Lanashire’s top young singers, had its 2022 grand finale at the end of last month.

The final took place at King Georges Hall, Blackburn on Friday June 24, with ten finalist schools from across the county including Chorley, Goosnargh and Blackpool.

Since its launch in 2015, the competition has grown each year with up to 40 participating schools in 2019, but due to COVID this is the first time the competition has taken place in two years.

In the final, each choir sang a set song followed by a song of their choice, which were judged by three independent judges; who are all experts in the music industry.

This year, Norbreck Primary Academy in Thornton Cleveleys won the County Final Winners Trophy and will receive the day’s grand prize at a professional recording studio, where they can record their winning songs.

The first runners-up were Coppull Parish Church School in Chorley, and the second runner-up was Anchorsholme Academy in Thornton-Cleveleys, who will receive cash prizes of £250 and £150 respectively.

Meanwhile, St Francis Catholic Primary School in Goosnargh won the Best Newcomer award and Endenfield C of E Primary School in Ramsbottom won the Angela Carson Award.

Local businessman George Critchley, who founded The Last Choir Singing, said: “It was so wonderful to see competition again after COVID. It was great to get back to the heats in March and the grand finale was just beautiful. We are already excited to start planning for the 2023 competition. All of the schools that participated this year were fantastic. The choirs gave their all and should all be very proud of them”.

A total of 16 schools entered the competition, which was sponsored by David Wilson Homes.

From each of the three rounds, three schools were chosen to go on to the final competition, along with a wildcard school to round entries up to 10.

The other 10 finalist schools were Park Primary School, Colne; St Chad’s RC Primary School, Chorley; Lord Street Primary School, Colne; St Andrew’s C of E Primary School, Oswaldtwistle; and St Anne’s RC Primary School, Ormskirk.

Jayne Raven, Project Coordinator at The Last Choir Singing Competition, said: “We are very grateful to David Wilson Homes for their support.

“The plan was to have the company as the main sponsor in 2020 but unfortunately the competition couldn’t take place due to COVID so it was great to have them as the main sponsor of the Winners Trophy of the this year’s county final.”

Rob Holbrook, General Manager of David Wilson Homes North West, added: “We are delighted that The Last Choir singing competition has been able to continue this year. It’s a delightful competition that showcases the incredibly talented children of Lancashire…we are more than happy to support such a wonderful event in the county.

The Last Choir Singing 2023 competition will open for entries in September 2022.

If you want to learn more about The Last Choir Singing, check out the website or follow the Facebook page.