26 fantastic pictures as over 1,500 children sing their hearts out at Lancaster and district schools' festival

Children from 33 primary schools across the area took part in the 2024 event at Lancaster’s Ashton Hall, led by Festival Chair Debbie Pilkington and Lancashire Music Hub's Vocal Lead Emma Williams.

The pupils entertained their families and friends, as well as local dignitaries including Mayor of Lancaster Coun Roger Dennison, with a programme of songs from around the world entitled Olympic Spirit.

Now a registered charity, the week-long festival has been running since 1948 and relies on the help of many local teachers and volunteers alongside support from Lancashire Music Hub.

Emma said: “The benefits of singing are widely known and bringing local schools together to sing alongside inspirational musicians, and sharing their skills with audiences from their community, creates long lasting musical memories and hopefully a lifelong love for singing.”

Daniel Hargreaves, Headteacher at Bolton le Sands C of E Primary School, said: “Watching the children beam and shine as they sing their hearts out is truly magical and listening to parents and staff talk about how they remember attending when they were at school makes it worthwhile. Thank you to all those involved for keeping a long-standing tradition alive.”

Gail Bowskill, Headteacher at Caton Primary School, added: “Thank you for a brilliant experience for the children and me. The whole experience was wonderful and we can't wait to take part once again.”

For more information about the charity and how you could get involved visit www.lancasterbigsing.org.uk