The competition is open to young singers aged 10–17 across the country, with the Senior category featuring talented vocalists aged 14–17. Applicants were required to submit two videos displaying their vocal talents.
Entries were initially assessed individually by leading music directors within the world of choral and church music. From these auditions, a shortlist of ten senior singers were selected. These ten entries were then reviewed again by the music directors, alongside music producers from TV and Radio to choose the final five competitors to progress to the semi-finals.
Skylar said “I was so excited, and so I went to my singing teacher and asked her what she thought. She said ‘why not give it a shot? It’s a national competition and would be good for your profile.’ I’ve seen amazing singers do it and they’ve won, and I thought maybe if I did it and I win too I might be at the same level.”
The semi-finals will be held at Hallé St Peter’s in Manchester this week (7-9 July). The event will be professionally filmed and then broadcast on BBC One and BBC Radio 2 later this year.
During the competition, Skylar will be judged on a range of qualities, including her technique, performance, repertoire and resilience. Should she progress, Skylar will become one of three finalists competing for the title of BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2026 Senior Winner.
The winner will receive a trophy as well as opportunities to appear on Songs of Praise and BBC Radio programmes.
Everyone at St Helen and St Katharine is incredibly proud of Skylar’s remarkable achievement to make it to this stage of the competition. Skylar’s success is a wonderful example of our school motto: per severa. Reaching this stage of such a highly competitive national competition is a testament to her talent, dedication and hard work.
We wish Skylar the very best of luck at the competition and look forward to cheering her on as she continues this exciting journey.