HCA choir top of the charts

CURRO Hillcrest Christian Academy’s high school choir recently became the only school in KwaZulu-Natal to make it through to the second round of the Woolworths and MySchool Sing, Dance, Celebrate Competition.

“We are so proud of our Grade 8 and 9 pupils who so enthusiastically participated in this challenge and of Shylo Pereira, the high school music director, who worked so hard to put it all together with such creativity,” said the school’s marketing and admissions manager, Rozanne Milne.

The competition was open to all South African children between the age of eight and 18 who attend a school registered with the MySchool, MyVillage, MyPlanet fundraising programme.

To qualify, school singing groups or choirs had to record pupils singing any song of their choice that made them want to dance and celebrate.

The records were uploaded onto YouTube and the entries were sent in for review. According to Helen Brand, marketing manager of MySchool, MyVillage, MyPlanet, they received more than 100 entries from across the country showcasing the singing talent from local schools.

The judging panel had the tough task of reviewing every single entry, but finally chose the five finalists which included Curro Hillcrest Christian Academy and Nelspruit Primary School (Mpumalanga), the only primary school in the country to make it into the finals. The other finalists were Riebeek College Girls’ High School (Eastern Cape), Somerset College (Western Cape) and the Masifune Youth Choir of Walmer High School (Eastern Cape). These school’s will compete against each other in the second round of the competition for the grand prize, R100 000 in cash.

The runners-up will receive the second and third prizes of R50 000 cash each. The winners will be announced on 27 November on the MySchool Facebook page and via Twitter.