On Friday 10 May, the Archdiocese of Liverpool Schools Singing Programme presented the first two awards in its new accreditation scheme for schools. St Anne’s Catholic Primary School and St Margaret Mary’s Catholic Infant School had been taking part in a trial of the scheme and both schools passed the first tier of award – the Singing School Award – with flying colours.

Headteacher of St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, Mr Liam Anderson, said:

“At St Anne’s, we have worked hard to achieve this award and are proud to be the first primary school in the Archdiocese to achieve it. Our children and staff work hard to create an excellent Catholic ethos in school. We are delighted to be recognised by the Schools Singing Programme and would like to say a big thank you to our Choral Director, Danny Townley, for his enthusiasm, efforts and guidance in achieving this.”

The new award scheme has three tiers and is designed to celebrate schools who are dedicated to promoting Catholic musical life within their schools and communities. The second tier of award is the Metropolitan Cathedral Award and the highest award attainable is the Archbishop’s Award. Schools have to show a range of achievements including a commitment to build a culture of singing within their school, actively engaging with the local parish and ensuring that children are given opportunities to sing outside of their school.

It is hoped that the award scheme will help participating schools to raise their standards to the very highest level and promote the work done by the Schools Singing Programme across the Archdiocese and beyond. It has now been launched in full and is open for entry to any school in the Archdiocese of Liverpool Schools Singing Programme.