Buckinghamshire Music Trust is looking for secondary school choirs from across the county to compete for the title of...

Bucks Choir of the Year 2026

The competition is held over two rounds, the first round being judged on a recording submitted by entrants and the final will be judged in person at The Grange School, Aylesbury.

First round submission deadline – Sunday 22nd February 2026

Final – 7pm, Tuesday 24th March 2026

Various prizes will be available to the winners including a performance opportunity as part of a large scale BMT event.

Who Can Enter?

Choirs from secondary schools in Buckinghamshire, made up of secondary aged students from that school.

How to Enter

Applications must be made by a member of that school’s staff.

Enter online below...

Please fill in your details below and send a link to a recording of your performance by Sunday 22nd February 2026.

You should perform one or two pieces piece of no more than 7 minutes in length in total.

You can submit either an audio or video performance.

Please also upload a copy of the sheet music with your application.

Clearly label all your files with your choir’s name and the title of the music.

You may perform the piece with accompaniment or a capella, this will not affect the decision of the panel.

A panel comprising of BMT staff will select a group of finalists from the first round and we will inform you if you have progressed to the final by Friday 27th February 2026.

Final

The final will be held on Tuesday 24th March, 7pm at The Grange School, Aylesbury.

You will be asked to perform a suitable programme of your choice.  The music should be accompanied if the piece requires it.

The performance should comprise of a maximum of three pieces to last no longer than 15 minutes in total.

You will be required to provide your own accompanist/accompaniment.

Please email a copy of the music to be performed to fhayhurst@bucksmusic.org prior to the performance.

You can perform the same piece of music submitted in the first round.

The final will be adjudicated by a guest judge from outside of Buckinghamshire Music Trust alongside a member of BMT staff.

Additional Information

The recording of the piece(s) of music performed must be unedited.

The 1st round submission must have been recorded in 2026

The decision of the judges is final.

The quality of the technology used to create your audio or video recordings will not be taken into consideration.

We would like to thank The Grange for the use of their school.


Enter here...



    IMPORTANT: Please make sure you have labelled your file/s correctly (label all your files with BCOTY, followed by your name and the title of the music, e.g. BCOTY_The Grange School_Dancing Queen.mp4). We cannot include files that are not labelled correctly. Please send a link to a folder, or a link to a single zip file with all entry assets compressed and zipped together.

    Media Upload

    Upload your audio or video/s and sheet music files using a file sharing/cloud storage service (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive). Use the box below to enter a link where we can view and download the files.

    By their very nature Buckinghamshire Music Trusts’ activities are in the public domain as they always lead to public performance. This may include the use of music technologies (sound and video recording) and photography as an integral part of the performance; to promote our work to new audiences; and encourage continued support for our activities. We will typically use photography as well as video and audio recordings for the following:

    • Resources and publications produced by BMT.

    • External publications (such as newspapers and magazines).

    • BMT’s social media channels including but not limited to Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and X (formerly Twitter).

    • BMT’s website and intranet.

    • External websites/broadcast media (such as news organisations or partner websites).

    If any child is included in your video for whom you do not have video permission please let us know.

    If you have any questions or difficulties entering or uploading media, please email Fay Hayhurst on fhayhurst@bucksmusic.org.