NEARLY 2,000 youngsters from Berkshire raised the roof of the Royal Albert Hall.

Singers from the county’s schools aged eight to 18 from 63 schools across the county took the world-famous stage in London, showcasing a range of talents and celebrating 30 years of music in Berkshire.

They all gave resounding performances, joined by instrumentallists from Berkshire Maestros, plus professionals such as The BBC Singers.

Philip Litchfield, chief executive of Berkshire Maestros, said: “The Royal Albert Hall echoed to the sound of more than 1,800 of Berkshire’s finest children and young people who sang and played their hearts out.

“Taking part in a large event such as this, at a world class venue like the Royal Albert Hall is one of those experiences that children and young people will remember for the rest of their lives.

“They have worked so hard for many months to perfect their performances and have done Berkshire proud.”

The youngsters performed on Tuesday March 11, and were kitted out in special 'Berkshire Maestro’ T-shirts.

Keighly Osbourne, teacher and choir leader at Fox Hill Primary School in Bracknell, said: “We took 19 students from Years Two to Six. It was absolutely amazing; they had never been before so they were flabbergasted. They got to keep their T-shirts and came to school in them, we put on a special lunch for them.”

Jamie Hudson, head of music at St Crispin’s School in Wokingham, said: “It went very well; we had 30 students take part, and the students enjoyed performing in the hall, it’s something they don’t get to do everyday and it was a really positive experience.”

The first half featured the primary schools, including brass solos and a piece by the percussion ensemble, and finished with a rendition of 'Mighty Mississippi’.

This was followed by the secondary schools, and accompanied 110 instrumentalists from Berkshire Maestros’ groups – Berkshire Youth Symphony Orchestra, Berkshire Youth Choir and Berkshire Young Voices – for a performance of 'Carmina Burana’.