Pupils and staff from across the Bishop Konstant Catholic Academy Trust came together on Thursday 9 July for our Trust’s Singing Festival 2026, an evening of choral music, instrumental solos and shared celebration held at St Wilfrid’s Catholic High School in Featherstone.

Titled “Sing Together,” the concert brought pupils from across our Trust together with pupils and staff from host school St Wilfrid’s Catholic High & Sixth Form, for a programme that showcased months of rehearsal and a shared love of music across the Trust community.

The evening opened with our primary-age singers performing “Sing Like Never Before” and “Beautiful World.” They were followed by a very special choir made up of staff, governors and former pupils of BKCAT, who performed Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus” — a wonderful reminder of the strength of our Trust family when it comes together, spanning generations of our Trust community. Pupils and this choir then joined voices for “Power in Me” and “Circle March,” before two accordion solos from Chipego Misiko and Isaac Chen, who each performed with great skill and confidence in front of a packed hall.

Our Trust Choir performed “Cuncti Simus Concanentes,” a fourteenth-century piece from the Llibre Vermell de Montserrat, before the staff, governors and former pupils’ choir returned with Bill Withers’ “Lean on Me.” The concert closed with the whole company singing together: “Summer,” “How Far I’ll Go,” the traditional Zambian song “Bonse Aba,” and “Immaculate Mary” — a fitting finale that brought the evening’s Catholic ethos and sense of community full circle.

The festival forms part of the Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme, recognised as the UK’s leading Catholic singing provision. The programme works with over 6,800 children across 75 schools spanning Bradford, Harrogate, Huddersfield, Keighley, Leeds, Pontefract, Ripon, Skipton and Wakefield, giving pupils musical and spiritual foundations that last a lifetime.

Rob Barraclough, Acting CEO of BKCAT, said:

“I think what really sets our Trust apart is that our Board of Directors consistently insists on this level of investment in music and the arts. We know that children across our Trust flourish in many different ways, and for some, music and the arts are a fundamental part of who they are. To be able to offer this level of teaching and expertise through the Diocese of Leeds Music Programme is something we are incredibly proud of. I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to everyone who continues to make this outstanding provision possible for the pupils of BKCAT. It was a tremendously joyful and uplifting evening, and we were all so proud to be entertained by our wonderful pupils.”

This year’s festival capped off a busy year of singing across the Trust, which also included the launch of our Trust’s Senior Choir in September, a Carol Service at St Austin’s, Wakefield in December, the Gabrieli Roar performance at Leeds Cathedral in February, a Lenten Service at St Austin’s in March, and the Diocesan Choirs Festival at Leeds Cathedral in June.

The Trust extends its thanks to all of the headteachers involved for their continued support of singing across our academies. Thanks also go to Fr Sean Crawley, parish priest of St Austin’s and English Martyrs, Wakefield, and St Ignatius, Ossett, and to Patrick Ganley, Director of Music at St Austin’s, Wakefield, for welcoming pupils to sing at Mass and rehearse in church throughout the year.