A TEN-YEAR-OLD York schoolgirl has been offered a place with the National Youth Choir of Great Britain after auditioning on Zoom.

Isabelle Evington, who is in Year 5 at The Mount School in York, auditioned after reaching the minimum qualifying age to get in to the choir.

She said: “When the auditions were first announced, I was still in Year 4 and too young, but the actual date of the auditions were after I'd joined Year 5, so I could audition for them! I think I must be one of the youngest. Before my audition, Mrs Maalawy, the new singing teacher, kindly gave me some tips which were really useful.”

Camille Maalawy, who took over the post at The Mount this term, said: “I think Isabelle is just the sort of person and voice the NYCGB would love to have.”

Isabelle performed Singing In The Rain for her audition and the NYCGB assessors told her, “You talked about how you're always singing, and your enthusiasm was really clear. You really expressed the happiness of the song with a wonderful energy.”

The NYCGB has five choirs, including the Girls' Choir, which is divided into Junior and Senior sections which rehears and perform both independently and on shared courses. Auditions for the National Youth Girls' Choir junior section open from Year 5 upwards.

Isabelle's parents broke the news to her at home after school by giving her the offer letter to read.

When she read it Isabelle said: "I was so happy, I was yelling and dancing around.

"I honestly didn't think I'd get in at the time but if I hadn't got in this time around I was just going to try again next year."

Rachel Capper, head of The Mount Junior School, said: “I am delighted for Isabelle. We were all thrilled when she told us her news about the NYCGB choir. She truly does love singing. When the opportunity arose to audition, she had the confidence to give it a go and now has access to this wonderful programme with children from across the country. Isabelle’s attitude toward the audition process is mature for someone her age; having an approach that she’s willing to have another go next year shows us all the importance of resilience. We are all so proud of her and her marvellous achievement.”