Dear Parents/Carers,
I hope that the start of term has gone well for everyone.
The start of the new choir year is a chance to reflect on the achievements of all our children and young people at our courses this year. Our summer concert was wonderful and all those who took part should be very proud of themselves.
We were also very proud of our choristers who sang at the VJ80 national commemoration event in August. It was an emotional and inspiring day that none of us will forget. All of those who took part represented NCCGB so well, and not just musically.
Thank you very much to those parents and carers who have taken the time to send me feedback on the courses this year. All feedback is gratefully received and helps us to consider and review our activities. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you have any thoughts on your child’s experience with us this year.
The video of our concert is now available to view here: Summer Concert 2025 | The National Children’s Choir of Great Britain – YouTube
I hope everyone enjoys it and it brings back lovely memories of the summer.
NCCGB in 2026
Registration is now open for our 2026 courses. Our 2026 courses will again take place at Bromsgrove School
2026 COURSE DATES
Easter
Sunday 5th April – Saturday 11th April Junior Choirs (Yellow, Blue and Green)
Tuesday 7th April – Saturday 11th April (Senior and Tour Choirs)
Summer
Sunday 2nd August – Saturday 8th August (All choirs)
2026 course registration
Please click here… to register for 2026. (You will need to be logged into the members’ area of the website to access the form)
Registrations are due for both courses by Friday 14th November, together with a non-refundable course fee deposit of £75 per course.
Registrations for both courses are due in November so that the choir can plan staffing and other arrangements.
Your child’s place is only guaranteed on receipt of the registration fee for each course.
After 14th November, remaining places will be given to new starters at audition.
If you already know that your child will not be returning to NCC, please let me know so that I can offer their place to a new starter.
2026 COURSE FEES
After careful consideration, the Board of Trustees has decided to increase the course fees this year. NCC is a charity. We are not in receipt of any public funding. We depend entirely on the income from course fees and any sponsorship we attract in order to fund our work. We use all the monies we receive to run our courses for your children.
As per our newsletter this time last year, for several years the charity has subsidised the attendance fee cost per child, to enable as many children as possible to benefit from the work that we do. This is unfortunately no longer sustainable.
The costs of running our courses have increased significantly again this year. Costs to us have increased by around 20%. It is also important that we pay our wonderful staff adequately as they are our greatest asset.
We therefore need to increase course fee income by 15% this year, and forecast a 15% increase again next year to put the NCC on a sustainable financial footing to ensure the longevity of the choir
We are continuing to look for external funding and are very grateful to those who donated to us this year. Funding is very hard to come by in the current financial climate. All donations, however small, make a difference and help us to ensure that NCC can continue to provide the same experience for your children into the future.
If anyone feels able to make a donation to the charity in addition to the course fees for their child, it would be very gratefully received. If you wish to do so, please donate here via the website, as it enables us to claim Gift Aid. National Children’s Choir of Great Britain – Donate now
In addition, if anyone knows of any companies or organizations who are looking for charities to sponsor or support as part of their corporate social responsibility programme, please do tell them about NCCGB.
The fees for 2026 will be:
£900 per course for Yellow, Blue and Green.
£604 for Easter and £900 for Summer for Senior and Tour Choir
2026 COURSE FEE PAYMENTS
We split the course fee for each course into 3 payments (registration fee, second payment and balance payment).
We have updated our payments policy. Please read it here…
Payment dates for 2026 are:
Easter course Amount Date due
Course registration fee £75 Friday 14th November
Second payment (Yellow, Blue and Green Choirs) £412.50 Friday 9th January
Second payment (Senior and Tour Choirs) £264.50 Friday 9th January
Balance payment (Yellow, Blue and Green Choirs) £412.50 Friday 28th February
Balance payment (Senior and Tour Choirs) £264.50 Friday 28th February
Summer course Amount Date due
Course registration fee £75 Friday 14th November
Second payment (all choirs) £412.50 Friday 8th May
Balance payment (all choirs) £412.50 Friday 19th June
Some parents/carers prefer to pay in weekly or monthly instalments to spread the cost of courses. If you would like to pay in instalments, this must be agreed before payments begin. Please contact me if you would like to do this.
Course fees must have been made in full before the beginning of a course.
I would be very grateful for payments to be made on time. It takes a lot of work to follow up late payments.
We do appreciate that sometimes unforeseen circumstances mean that a payment can’t be made on the correct date.
If this happens, please do contact me to discuss. We much prefer to work with you in this kind of situation.
SIBLING DISCOUNTS
There will be a 10% sibling discount for 2026. The total reduction will be taken off the course balance.
BURSARY APPLICATIONS
Our bursary scheme is open to those with a net annual household income of £35,000 or under. Bursaries will be awarded of between 5 and 100% of the course fees, depending on the applications that we receive in that cycle.
All bursary applications, including all supporting paperwork, must be received by 5pm on Monday 6th January. Applications received after this deadline will not be considered.
You can find all details here.
Course Fees & Bursary Scheme – The National Children’s Choir (nccgb.com)
BURSARY DONATIONS
We have very limited funds in our bursary pot. We are looking to increase this so more children can benefit from attending our courses. A small amount of money can go a long way towards increasing access to our courses.
If any parent or carer would be interested in donating to our bursary fund, please contact me to discuss further.
AUDITIONS
Booking is now open for auditions. Please do share this with any children aged 9-19 who love singing and who would love NCCGB. Details are available here: Join Us – The National Children’s Choir (nccgb.com)
BOYS WITH CHANGED VOICES
Please contact me if any boys find that their voice is changing between now and Easter. I will arrange for them to have an online assessment with Dan so that he can agree a plan with you for the best way forward and ensure they are in the correct choir for their voice. Please note that we may ask your son to miss a course whilst their voice is transitioning, if we feel that it is better for their vocal health. This does not mean they will lose their place in the choir.
GREEN CHOIR AUDITIONS
Members of Blue Choir in school years 8 -10 can audition for a place in Green Choir if they feel that they have made substantial progress since the end of the summer course. Auditions will be held online during the morning of Saturday 7th February. I will send out further information in December.
NCC SCHOLARSHIP 2026
The NCC scholarship is now open for applications from Senior Choir members. The closing date for applications is 5pm on Friday 7th November. The auditions will take place at Dulwich College in London on Saturday 22nd November. If your child would like to apply, further information can be found, including the criteria for entrance, can be found on our website here…. Application Form here…
EASY FUNDRAISING
If you are not already doing so, you may not be aware that you can support us by using Easyfundraising. (https://www.easyfundraising.org.uk/)
This is an excellent way for the choir to raise funds. If you shop online, if you access the retailer’s website through the Easyfundraising website first, the retailer will donate a percentage of your sale to NCC, at no extra cost to you.
Please do contact me if you have any questions on any of the above.
Thank you
Best wishes
Nicole
Links
Course Registration Form
Summer Concert
Donate Now
Course Fees and Payment Scheme
Join Us
Course Payment Policy
Scholarship details
Scholarship application form
Easyfundraising