December 15th 2025
Head Student Team Blog: Stella on her EPQ podcast
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A Season of Song: Celebrating Music Across Blackheath High
Junior School
This year’s Junior Carol Concert was a truly joyful celebration of the warmth and spirit of our school community. The glorious sound of 125 girls singing with confidence, clarity and beautifully blended sound filled the Old Royal Naval College Chapel. They were accompanied by a wonderful team of professional musicians, whose support helped lift every performance.
The programme showcased an impressive breadth of music, thoughtfully introduced by our talented Music Prefects. We were especially honoured to be joined by opera singer and Blackheath High parent Ailish Tynan, whose performance alongside our girls was utterly magical and unforgettable.
It was a wonderful start to the festive season - a concert that left the whole audience feeling uplifted, inspired and full of Christmas cheer.
Senior School
We opened second half of the term started with the Autumn Concert, a brilliant showcase of our ensembles including Sinfonia, Concert Band, and all our wonderful Rock Bands. We also heard from all the winners from House Music 2025. The evening was confidently compered by Sixth Formers, Amelie and Phoebe.
Parents often tell us that Christmas truly begins with our annual concert at the Old Royal Naval College Chapel - and this year was no exception. The spectacular setting offered a perfect backdrop for our students to showcase their musical talents, with four choirs performing, including our newly formed Adult Choir made up of parents, governors and staff.
The musical programme was wonderfully varied, and the readings were delivered with great clarity and poise. A special mention goes to Year 9 students Ruby-Rose and Emma, who performed the solo violin parts in Elgar’s The Snow, and to Florence (Year 8) and Elizabeth (Year 9), who impressed as vocal soloists.
It was a beautiful evening of music and community, marking the start of the festive season in the most uplifting way.
Back at school and our bi-weekly enrichment sessions for Year 11, who sign up to departmental projects that aim to benefit the community. In the Music Department, we run Classics for Kids, where students work together to create a musical story to perform to nursery-aged children. This year, the students participated in a magical new play written by Ms Bond called ‘Mrs Sparkle’. The girls performed with such enthusiasm and really engaged the little ones, playing their instruments and getting the audience singing along to the tunes. This enrichment project teaches so many important skills, such as teamwork, creativity, communication and working with young children; all of which are valuable lessons that they will use to further their learning and understanding.
During the last week of term, the Music Department keeps on making music! Ms McGhee will be hosting another informal concert for students, Year 11 will be singing carols at Westcombe Park Care Home, Year 7 will be hosting their own Christmas event for their families, and the school Rock Bands will be performing in the final assembly of the year.
There has also been some wonderful news beyond the department. A-level Music scholar Carlotta has been offered a place to study Music at the Birmingham Conservatoire - a fantastic achievement. Congratulations, Carlotta! You can also read more below about Carlotta’s evening with Steinway UK to celebrate their 150 years of service to Music.
In addition, Charlotte in Year 8 has been accepted into the National Youth Choir of Great Britain, a remarkable accomplishment at such a young age. The National Youth Choir (NYC) is one of the best choirs in the world, with an extremely competitive audition process. It brings together 1,000 singers aged 9-25 from across the UK and opens doors to professional-level musical experiences including national concert performances, residential courses, masterclasses and opportunities to collaborate with leading choral musicians and composers.  NYC has nurtured singers who have gone on to professional success - from the soaring tenor of Ben Thapa (of G4) to West End star Jon Robyns, to pianist-composer Rich Batsford.
For Charlotte to be selected - particularly for a coveted Soprano role - is an exceptional achievement, reflecting not only her vocal ability but also the commitment, passion and potential that the NYC is looking for in its members. With this acceptance, she will join a community of the UK’s most promising young singers and begin a journey offering outstanding musical, social and educational opportunities.
Charlotte is following in the footsteps of her musically gifted mother, Sarah, an alumna of Blackheath High (1980–1993). Sarah now sings in the newly formed Blackheath High Adult Choir. In a wonderful family moment, Sarah, Charlotte and her sister Emily all performed together at the Christmas concert.
The Music Department would like to thank you for your continuing support.
Happy Christmas and a Peaceful, Healthy New Year!
Music Scholar Carlotta celebrates 150 years of Music at Steinway event
This November, our Head of Futures, Ms Day, accompanied Year 13 Music Scholar, Carlotta to a very special event at Steinway Hall to celebrate 150 years of Steinway UK’s service to music. The musical programme was brilliantly compered by broadcaster and Radio 3 presenter Ian Skelly, with a duet from Kathryn Stott and Madeleine Brown and solo performances from Danny Driver, Charles Owen and Dominic Ferris. The evening finished with a wonderful jazz performance from Julian Joseph, one of the most influential and highly respected musicians in British jazz.
Steinway also unveiled their latest piano, the Steinway Hall London 150 Years Anniversary Limited Edition, designed to honour 150 years of Steinway Hall London. This piano in white with chrome fittings features an inner mahogany rim, silver cast-iron plate, and a specially designed medallion marking its rarity. Its defining feature is the hand-drawn artwork adorning the outer rim — a continuous line-drawing timeline titled The Sound of Nations in the Lines of Time – celebrating 150 years of British musical and cultural history intertwined with Steinway’s legacy in the UK. We were lucky enough to grab a picture of Carlotta sitting at it! We were also treated to a fascinating overview of the history of Steinway & Son from Heinrich Engelhard Steinway building pianos in Germany to Steinway pianos featuring in many home and famous worldwide concert venues such as Carnegie and the Royal Albert Hall.
Many thanks to George Soole at Steinway & Sons for inviting us to this prestigious event. And hearty congratulations to Carlotta, who discovered the next day that she had won a place at the Birmingham Conservatoire to study for a BMus in Piano Performance!
