MEMBERS of a school choir from across the years have been brought together once again for a video to raise spirits during the pandemic.

Susannah Cooper, head of music at William Howard School, and teachers David Wood, and Jim Connolly decided to bring back former members of the choir to sing with current members as a way to keep people active in their singing habits.

More than 50 people got involved in singing the World in Union.

Jim Connolly, one of the teachers involved in organising the virtual choir, said:

“Susannah Cooper, who is the head of music at the school, was looking to get the choirs and singers in school keeping in touch with each other and feeling like they are part of something.

“We were thinking how nice it would be to reach out and get in touch with people who we have not been in touch with for a long time.

“We decided that the two things worked really well together and we could do something that would allow us to get in touch with lots of old friends, students and staff and do something that then supported newer students in their music that they are missing out on in school at the moment.”

As well as being a rugby anthem, the song is the unofficial school song.

The choir sings it each year during the presentation evening at Carlisle Cathedral which celebrates recent school leavers.

“It’s one that we have sung every years when we have the annual presentation evening in the cathedral,” he said.

“Every year we have all of the students who have done GCSEs and A-Level exams come back for one glamorous night in the cathedral and the school choir always performs.”

People were eager to get involved in the project which took four weeks to put together.

It soon became a project that spanned not just Europe, but the entire world.

“More than 40 ex-students and staff were involved in sorting it including an ex-student who is in lockdown in Berlin at the minute,” said Jim.

“We have got two ex-teachers who actually work out in Brunei, it’s really nice to be in contact with them again as well as students and staff all the way across the country.

“It’s really nice that we have got people form around the world because the track that we chose, World in Union, adds another level of meaning.”