I was delighted to be able to watch the interhouse singing competition as a parent this year. It was a pleasure to see how each of the houses shone in their own individual way. I would not have liked to have been in Reverend Wood’s shoes; it must have been incredibly difficult to choose a winner!

The evening was opened by L’Estrange singing the hymn, “O Praise Ye the Lord.”  This was beautifully articulated and almost note perfect.  I would have been delighted to welcome all of L’Estrange into the choir! For the set piece, “Let it Be,” Susanna Hutchinson took her place in front of her house and conducted them with clarity and enthusiasm; they couldn’t fail to get the words wrong under her clear direction. The light and shade in this piece was excellent and it was very well phrased.  For their chosen song L’Estrange sang “Joy to the World” by Hoyt Axton. This was conducted with vigour and humour and the whole house were following Susanna’s direction throughout; I was most impressed with their focus and concentration.  This song was in complete contrast to the set piece and was performed brilliantly. Well done L’Estrange.

The next house to perform was Barbers who opened with a short introduction from Tom Hancock outlining their programme for the evening. They began with the hymn “Tell out my soul” which unfortunately got off to a false start with the electronic piano being set in the wrong key!  This unnerved the singers but they recovered remarkably and sang with real enthusiasm, particularly Lewis Warden who was beaming throughout the performance.  The set piece, “Let it be,” was then conducted confidently by Lewis, and the House sang with enthusiasm and clarity. The chosen song by Barbers, “Chim Chim Cheree,” from Mary Poppins, was by far my favourite of the three they performed.  From the outset this grabbed the audience when George Sowerby and Lewis Warden came on stage as the chimney sweeps. George and Lewis acted their parts superbly and sang tunefully and in character; a difficult feat to undertake. This was an incredibly entertaining performance and yet again well conducted, this time by Freddie Davison.  Well done Barbers.

The final house to perform was St. Edmunds. St. Edmunds opened with the hymn, “Jesus Good Above All Other.” The children were set on stage in a close formation which helped to keep the hymn together with some strong voices from the back. On the whole it was beautifully sung.  The set piece, “Let it be,” was conducted competently by Patrick Webb ensuring that there was effective light and shade where necessary.  The chosen song by St. Edmunds was, “Don’t Go Breaking My Heart,” by Elton John and Kiki Dee. This was a winner from the start with Grace Thomas and Patrick Webb acting out the lyrics to perfection and singing with the natural talent that they have both been blessed with. Reverend Wood commented in his final summary of the “Star Quality” in this house and indeed I think he may be right.  I think the choreography in this performance was fantastic and should not be overlooked; it befitted the song well and ensured that there was never a dull moment. Well done St. Edmunds.

After much deliberation Reverend Wood announced that the winning team was St. Edmunds.  Well done St. Edmunds and well done Barbers and L’Estrange; you were all fabulous.