Young singers wow Albert Hall

4:04pm Wednesday 21st November 2007

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Hundreds of Oxfordshire children took centre stage at the Royal Albert Hall to sing in front of a flag-waving crowd.

The audience cheered loudly as more than 500 youngsters from the county performed their own version of the Last Night of the Proms.

Children from 33 Oxfordshire schools sang to a backdrop of fireworks and confetti at the world-famous venue.

The youngsters spent seven weeks before the concert practising a song called 5,000 Children, written by composer Richard Stilgoe for the charity WaterAid.

They also sang the national anthem and Land of Hope and Glory at the performance in front of parents, friends and members of the public.

And others played instruments including guitars, flutes and keyboards.

Sixteen pupils from Wootton St Peter's Primary School, in Wootton, near Abingdon, were among those who went to the event.

Headteacher Shona Howie said: "It was absolutely wonderful and we were all so proud of our children.

"It was excellent. The kids were buzzing.

"It was exactly the same as the Last Night of the Proms - there were fireworks and confetti and Land of Hope and Glory and flags and all the rest of it.

"It was a real knee-tingling experience - a unique experience for the children."

Wootton St Peter's pupil Philippa Sayers nine, added: "It was great, very exciting but a bit nerve-racking.

"But it went really well. I had never been to the Royal Albert Hall before. It was not as I expected it to be. I expected it to be a bit smaller and there was more gold paint.

"We did an awful lot of practice beforehand. I just like singing, I enjoy performing. Everyone was having a good time. They said we were really good."

Known as The Last Night of the Schools Prom, the event was organised by educational charity Music for Youth.

And Oxfordshire County Council's music service, which is based at Bayards Hill School in Barton, Oxford, was asked to form a massed choir for the performance, which took place last week.

Liz Stock, assistant head of the music service, said: "It was absolutely brilliant. The children just sang the best they had ever sung.

"It's something that they may never ever have the opportunity to do again - a once in a lifetime experience.

"The children's faces when they walked into the hall - they were just spellbound."