Primary school youngsters in fine voice at arena concert

Pupils from three West Norfolk schools joined thousands of other children to create a spectacular choir at a prestigious venue.The group of 40 from Clenchwarton, West Lynn and Walpole Cross Keys primary schools made the trip to Sheffield on last Wednesday to participate in a mass choir of 8,000 for the Young Voices concert.All three schools, members of the West Norfolk Academies Trust, have choirs which have been meeting weekly to practice their numbers ahead of travelling to the Sheffield Arena for their gig.

“Young Voices is a great opportunity for our pupils, to be part of a choir of more than 8,000 pupils all singing together is incredible.“We get to visit huge arenas, whether in London or, this time Sheffield, and see some vastly different places,” said Billy Overton, assistant headteacher at Walpole Cross Keys.“The atmosphere is incredible and very noisy, but when the children all sing together, it certainly gives you goosebumps – they sound incredible when they sing in unison and surprise themselves in how good they are and they can’t stop smiling. “They go from very nervous to very excited in a couple of beats,” he added.The playlist for this year included 12 songs with many based on compilations on different themes. There was a Bob Marley medley, Hairspray medley as well as songs from pop and dance as well as a few original songs.The Marley Magic medley was to celebrate the legacy of the artist who would have been 80 earlier this month.The special arrangement included Three Little Birds and One Love and was performed in conjunction with the Bob and Rita Marley Foundation. Last year the children visited the O2 Arena in London, but this year it was decided to try somewhere different with an arena they had never visited.“Our three schools have been going to Young Voices for a while, before I started. Last year was my first experience and I thought it was a brilliant opportunity for pupils and a tradition well worth maintaining,” added Mr Overton.Young Voices has been running for more than 30 years and offers a concert experience for children of primary school age – and is the largest children’s choir in the world.“Music is a really important part of a well-balanced curriculum both for individuals and bringing people together as a whole.“Learning about music and understanding musical elements, as well as playing and performing, gives every pupil a better understanding of where music comes from, what influences it and the skills involved,” said Mr Overton.