St John the Divine, Kennington (SJDK), a church in south London, has built one of the UK's largest youth choral programmes, helping children from deprived backgrounds win fully funded scholarships to elite musical institutions. Seven-year-old N'raeah is the fourth chorister from SJDK to secure a scholarship, this time to St Paul's Cathedral school, one of the UK's most prestigious private schools known for its internationally renowned choir.
Other choristers have won scholarships to Westminster Abbey, King's College, Cambridge, and St John's College, Cambridge, with some performing at national events like the coronation of King Charles III. These achievements are remarkable given the challenges facing the local community in Lambeth, an area marked by high deprivation and youth violence. Many families from migrant backgrounds have endured anxiety from the Windrush scandal and hostile immigration policies.
The church's primary school, which supplies many choristers, faced closure before being saved by a parent-led campaign. Since 2013, about 1,000 children have passed through SJDK's choirs, with the parish working to remove barriers that typically keep working-class children out of classical music.
Joe Tobin, director of music at SJDK, said the church created a model that works well for the area, contrasting with traditional formal and demanding church choirs. "We pick children up from local schools and take them to rehearsal and give them snacks," he explained.
Award-winning composer and teacher Ed Picton-Turbervill noted that when the programme began 12 years ago, every primary school he worked with had a specialist music teacher. "Now, none of those schools has a specialist music teacher," he said, expressing concern that access to music education is becoming tied to privilege. However, SJDK realised that even small interventions, like 15 minutes of singing a week, can bridge gaps between privileged and deprived children.
Picton-Turbervill recalled a chorister who burst into tears before an audition at Cambridge. After he offered to accompany her, she chose to walk in alone. "That seven-year-old has just strode confidently into her future," he said. Some children have also faced racial prejudice, with one authority figure claiming black children could not sing high notes. Picton-Turbervill described the scholarship choristers as "pioneers" opening a broader pathway for everyone.
N'raeah's mother, Shauna-Rae, was overwhelmed by her daughter's success. "This is an opportunity that a lot of people from our community, our background, don't get," she said, adding that some families hesitate to step into historically exclusive institutions. "I was breaking that chain of thinking."
While the family is musically gifted, Shauna-Rae admits classical music is different from what she grew up with. "It's not really my world musically, but I love that it opens different doors and different worlds for her." N'raeah's advice to shy singers: "Don't be scared. It's really nice to sing. And if you sing, everybody will look at you and think that you're great."
