News from Hereford

[oddoneout]

Financial stricture is but one factor involved in the recent announcements that existing boy treble top lines are to be replaced with mixed boy/girl sopranos. There could, however, be one overriding consideration that has yet fully to come to light, namely a forthcoming Department for Education ruling that if a choir school is mixed, they must now offer the attached cathedral or college top line to both boys and girls. If the choir school is boys only, they are exempt from the mixed treble line requirement, eg Westminster Abbey Choir School.

The DfE document Gender separation in mixed schools already states that: 'Schools should check that there are no practices that could result in less favourable treatment of a boy or a girl because of his or her sex.' It looks as though this policy will soon be extended to the private educational sector, including St John's College School, The Prebendal School, Chichester and Hereford Cathedral School. If this is indeed the case, are these institutions being a little disingenuous with their reasoning? Have they genuinely wanted their soprano lines to go mixed, are they recent converts after witnessing progressive change elsewhere, or have they discovered that they must comply with upcoming government policy?

It may be the case that an establishment is pre-empting a change they will have to bring in anyway, but should that be the case I don't think that it would exactly be helpful for an announcement to be made that in effect says "We don't want girls but government says we have to". There will be those, aware of the edicts, who might know the truth and others who might suspect in any given case, but discretion is likely deemed the better course if compliance is mandatory.

[Resurgam]

So it looks like St Paul's will have to have a mixed top line or they will have to provide scholarships to both boys and girls

I cannot see the voices of girls in the same age range as boys making any impression in a place like St Paul's.

Isn't Westminster cathedral choir school also mixed now? If so the above comments similkarly apply apply.

[Keraulophone]

Isn't Westminster cathedral choir school also mixed now?

Yes it is, along with St Paul's Cathedral School, Hereford Cathedral Junior School, St George's School, Windsor and The Prebendal School, Chichester. Any other mixed schools that don't supply girl choristers?

By contrtast, The Pilgrims' School, Winchester educates 'around 270 boys' and supplies Quiristers to Winchester College and Choristers to Winchester Cathedral; so nothing has to change there. Their 12-17yo girl choristers attend 'schools in the Winchester and Hampshire area'.

It is not yet clear whether a school that currently educates both 8-13yo boy cathedral choristers and 13-18yo girl cathedral choristers will in future be obliged to offer cathedral choristerships to its 8-13yo girls as well. The DfE's Gender Separation directive, if and when fully applied to the private educational sector by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI), would imply that this situation would need to be addressed because a similar opportunity is being denied girls of the same age as the boys.