There are 44 choir schools in the UK attached to, and providing choristers for, churches, cathedrals and college chapels. They educate over 21,000 boys and girls but only 1200 are choristers. While some teach up to A-level, the majority are prep schools. An increasing number accept girls – six have a separate girls’ choir, although only two (in Edinburgh and Manchester) have mixed choirs.
This will suit children who are good at singing − and crucially, enjoy it enough to spend a lot of their time singing in church services and concerts. It usually means passing a voice trial some time between the ages of 7 and 10.