A WEEKEND of celebrations was had by the boys choir at Salisbury Cathedral as scholarships and promotions were awarded.

After only being probationer choristers for five months, Jack Maltby, Rory Law, Theo Price and Kavan Sathish became full choristers last month, 'bumped up' to their new role in the traditional chorister fashion.

Promotions in the choir generally take one year to achieve, but the four boys secured their spots after Evensong on Saturday, January 19.

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David Halls, director of music at Salisbury Cathedral, said: “I am pleased with the way these four boys have developed. They have worked really hard since September and become valuable members of our choral ‘family’.

"Being a chorister is hard work, but it is also good fun."

In April the choristers will be travelling to Austria, Mr Halls describing the trip as "quite an experience", to sing in some of Vienna and Salzburg's churches.

On the same day five new probationer choristers were also selected and granted chorister scholarships at Salisbury Cathedral School, starting from September.

Elliot Groillon and Alexander Lecher- Malloy will join Year 5 at the cathedral school, and Harry Mills, Luke Anderson-Diaper and George Gostick will go into Year 4.

Mr Halls was "delighted" to offer the scholarships to the five youngsters, adding: "Boys’ voices are breaking earlier so it can be a challenge keeping the boys choir up to strength.

"Luckily all of these candidates showed great promise when they did their voice trials, which is really heartening, and I think they’ll enjoy being part of our team.”