King Henry VIII Choral Award
We are proud to be launching the new King Henry VIII Choral Programme, a partnership between Warwick Schools Foundation, the Collegiate Church of St Mary, Warwick, and The King Henry VIII Endowed Trust, Warwick.
Warwick Schools Foundation and St Mary’s are aligned in our belief in the power of singing and choral music for young people, both within our schools and the wider community. Through the launch of the King Henry VIII Choral Programme, our aim is to enable as many talented children as possible to benefit from the unique opportunities that choral participation affords them, alongside the outstanding education that we provide at King's High School.
We will do this in three ways:
- Equalising access to existing choral awards for girls and boys
- Launching an enhanced offer for talented singers who currently sing with St Marys’ and who are also Foundation pupils, with the introduction of the King Henry VIII Choral Award in addition to the existing scholarships.
- Introduction of the full Choral Programme awards as one complete offer for new entrants to St Mary’s choir and/or the Foundation from September 2025.
- Equalising Access
The King Henry VIII Choral Scholarship extends the current Choral Scholarship - previously only available to Warwick boys and funded by Warwick Choral Trust - to all students across the Foundation from Year 3 upwards.
To be eligible for the Choral Scholarship, a student must:
- Be either a current pupil at a Foundation School or be offered a place at one from Year 3 upwards
- Also be a member of St. Mary’s Choir – or successfully audition and accept a place in the Choir
- Fulfil all commitments required by St Mary’s Choir
The Choral Scholarship currently equates to £1950 per year and lasts as long as the student sings with St. Mary’s Choir. For boys, if they pause membership of the choir on the advice of the Director of Music of St Mary’s, when their voice changes, they will be entitled to a pension of 50% of the scholarship for as many years as they held the full scholarship. For example, if the student had the scholarship for three years, then paused membership of the choir at the end of year 8, they would receive £975pa for three years.
- Launching an enhanced offer
For any students who are both enrolled at a Foundation school as of the end of the 2024-25 academic year and are a member of (or are accepted as a member of) St. Mary’s choir, they will automatically be awarded a Choral Scholarship at the beginning of the 2025-26 academic year if they are not already a scholarship holder.
They will also be able to register their interest for a King Henry VIII Choral Award which brings with it additional funding and also additional benefits.
King Henry VIII Choral Awards
The King Henry VIII Awards is a newly-launched scholarship programme for all schools across the Foundation for children in year 3 and upwards.
To be eligible for the Award, students must meet the criteria of the Choral Scholarship (see above), and be willing to take on an enhanced musical commitment which brings with it additional benefits for the scholars. King Henry Choral Scholars will be an active and important part of the musical life of their School and the wider Foundation The King Henry VIII Choral Award may not be held without the Choral Scholarship and, as such, all King Henry VIII Choral Award holders will also be members of St Mary’s Choir and must meet the requirements of being part of that choir.
King Henry Choral Scholars benefits and commitments
- All King Henry Choral Scholars will automatically become members of the Foundation Chamber Choir, to be known as the King Henry VIII Consort of Warwick Schools Foundation, and be directed by Foundation Executive Music Lead, Mr Stuart Thompson
- Pupils in Years 3 and 4 will usually be Probationers in the Consort and expected to join one rehearsal a week. Probationers will be invited to become full choristers at the discretion of the Director of Music at St Mary’s.
- Pupils in Year 5 upwards will usually be full Choristers and expected to join two rehearsals a week
- Members of the Consort will also be required to participate in between three to four additional events each term which will include services at Warwick Chapel, at local churches and cathedrals, and a programme of concerts at external venues across the country.
- Award holders will also benefit from a unique partnership with Armonico Concert, where each year the King Henry VIII Consort will perform alongside professional singers, soloists and instrumentalists at one of Armonico's concerts.
The Award equates to a 10% fee reduction, applicable for the duration that the pupil sings in both choirs. This must be combined with the Choral Scholarship, currently valued at £1,950.
Boys who pause their membership of St Mary’s Choir on the advice of the Director of Music of St Mary’s due to their voice changing, will be entitled to 50% of the Choral Scholarship as previously. As long as they remain committed to the choir and the musical programme at the Foundation, they will also continue to be eligible for the 10% additional fee reduction.
All awards are contingent on remaining part of St Mary’s Choir or only pausing on advice due to voice changes. Anyone who leaves the Choir will rescind their right to a scholarship.
- Introduction of the full programme from September 2025
Any children at a Foundation school from September 2025 who have not yet auditioned for St Mary’s Choir, or children who apply to join one of the schools for September 2025 will only be eligible to apply for the King Henry VIII Choral Award combined with the Choral Scholarship. The two will not be available separately, even for boys in Warwick School.
The Choral Scholarship will cease to be available as a standalone option from this point.
To see how these scholarships may work for students at different stages of their Foundation education, see below.
Existing Foundation pupils
A Year 5 girl at Warwick Prep currently sings in St Mary’s. She fulfils the same criteria as boys who are in receipt of the Warwick Choral Trust Scholarship and is therefore offered a matching sum. The terms are the same as for the boy recipients. She expresses interest in and is also offered a King Henry VIII Choral Award but declines to accept it. She therefore continues as a full chorister at St Mary’s but without the additional financial enhancement or expanded musical opportunities.
A Year 9 boy at Warwick is in receipt of a Choral Trust Scholarship and a King Henry VIII Choral Award. His voice breaks and he wants to continue to sing but singing through the break is hard. He remains committed but pauses his membership of St Mary’s so whilst reduced to being a pensioner for the Choral Trust for the time being, he continues to be a King Henry VIII Choral Scholar with the expectation that he will re-join the ‘back rows’ of St Mary’s once his voice has settled.
Pupils new to the Foundation
A Year 3 applicant new to WJS applies for the King Henry VIII Choral Scholarship and to join St Mary’s. He is auditioned and offered both. He immediately receives the King Henry VIII Choral Award and the Choral Scholarship, funded by King Henry’s. Once admitted as a full chorister, the Choral Trust funds the Scholarship. These remain with him, assuming he remains in St Mary’s and fulfils the criteria for the King Henry VIII Choral Award. NB The Awards for new entrants can only be held in conjunction with one another.
A Year 5 applicant new to WPS applies for the King Henry VIII Choral Scholarship and to join St Mary’s. She is auditioned and offered both. She immediately receives the King Henry VIII Choral Award and the Choral Scholarship, funded by King Henry’s. These remain with her, assuming she remains in St Mary’s and fulfils the criteria for the Choral Trust Scholarship.
Music is a fundamental part of life at our school and across the Foundation; through the extension of the Choral Scholarships to girls and boys from the age of seven, and with the introduction of the King Henry VIII Awards, we aim to enable as many pupils as possible to take full advantage of an early singing education, whilst accessing the world-class musical opportunities that we are proud to offer at the Foundation.
Register your interest