Clore School Choirs and Singing Programme

What does it take to create school choirs and singing groups that are effective, inclusive and sustainable?

Singing is at its best in a school when it belongs to the school: in the assemblies and the corridors as well as in the choir and sung by young people who recognise themselves in it. This is achievable anywhere, in any context. It does not happen by accident, and it rarely survives a project that arrives, delivers and leaves.

Too often funding pays for the visit rather than the handover. This programme is built the other way around. It funds a small number of organisations for three years to work alongside groups of schools, with practitioners and teachers developing together, so that the singing, and the partnership, has somewhere to go when the money stops.

We are looking for ambition. Three years at this level of funding will make possible something an organisation and group of schools could not otherwise attempt, and we would rather back a bold plan than a safe one.

The funded projects will not work in isolation. They will form a national cohort, meeting across the three years, comparing what works against what doesn't, contributing to a published resource for the sector. This is why the Foundation is funding a few projects deeply rather than many briefly: that peer support, innovation and the sector resource, is much of what the programme is for.

At a glance

Grants of £50,000 to £100,000 a year, for three years.
Between five and ten projects funded.
For organisations with expertise and a track record in choirs and group vocal work. Depth of expertise matters more than scale or national profile.
Each project works with at least three state-funded schools in England, primary, secondary or both. Schools are partners rather than applicants, although a school or trust with the right expertise can lead one.
Applications open 21 September 2026 and close at midday on 30 October 2026.
Delivery begins in autumn 2027.

Grant guidance, FAQs & Information sheet for schools

Full details are in the grant guidance. If you are thinking of applying, read it before you start: it sets out who can apply, what we are looking for, and how applications are assessed.

Grant guidance
Frequently asked questions
Information sheet for schools

Webinar

We are holding an information webinar on Tuesday 29 September 2026, 1.10 to 1.50pm. Most of the session is given over to your questions. Please read the guidance before attending, and tell us at registration what you would like covered: we will group the questions we receive and take those first, then take further questions live. The opening part of the session is recorded, and the question and answer part is not. If you cannot attend, email us and we will send you the recording. Questions that are useful to others will be added to the Frequently Asked Questions during the application window.

Register for the information webinar, Tuesday 29 September, 1.10 to 1.50pm: CDF School Choirs and Singing Programme Webinar.

Apply Now

Please read all the guidance before applying.

Apply by completing the online application form.