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Voice for Life Singing Awards


Bronze, Silver & Gold awards

In order to support the choir trainer and affirm the levels achieved within the choir while working on the Voice for Life training scheme, the RSCM provides a parallel system of awards designed to be assessed through a formal examination: these are called the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards. (In some local RSCM Areas the Bronze and Silver Awards are called Dean’s and Bishop’s Awards.)

Each award has its own syllabus and regulations. These come complete with guidelines to fully prepare the candidate and the choir trainer for the standard expected during the examination.

Successful candidates are entitled to wear a prestigious medal cast in the appropriately coloured metal (bronze, silver or gold) and these are worn on distinctive ribbons. Bronze awards are worn with a Green ribbon, Silver awards with a Purple ribbon and the Gold award with a Dark Red ribbon.

Where do these awards fit into the Voice for Life scheme?

The Voice for Life scheme and the Bronze, Silver & Gold awards are designed to fit together. They should be attempted in the following order:

  • White
  • Light Blue
  • Dark Blue
    • Bronze
  • Red
    • Silver
  • Yellow
    • Gold

In effect, the Voice for Life scheme provides training and preparation for the Bronze, Silver & Gold Awards; Light Blue and Dark Blue help a candidate prepare for their Bronze Award, Red level helps a candidate prepare for the Silver award, and Yellow level helps a candidate prepare for the Gold award.

Likewise, the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards affirm each of the Voice for Life levels that have been awarded informally by the choir trainer.

What if I have a singer who does not want to take the external (Bronze, Silver and Gold) awards?

This is no problem. The Voice for Life training scheme can be used on its own to provide training and motivation to singers within a choir. There is no need to take the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards if your singer is unhappy about undertaking such formal assessments.

Where can I obtain the syllabus for the Bronze, Silver or Gold awards?

In the UK, the Bronze and Silver awards are administered and examined on a local basis by a voluntary network of RSCM committees. Every local RSCM committee has its own syllabus for the Bronze and Silver awards. Although the syllabuses differ from area to area, the RSCM has validated all Bronze and Silver award syllabuses to ensure an even standard across the country. All examiners for the Bronze and Silver awards have also been validated by the RSCM to ensure consistency of marking.

Following a conference in 2007 to review RSCM Silver standard singing awards, a number of changes are being introduced by Areas during 2008 or early in 2009. The content of the new syllabus will remain in force for at least 4 years, though entry fees may possibly have to rise again during that time.

Always make sure you obtain a copy of your latest Area syllabus before entering our awards. These can be found on the webpages for local RSCM Areas or on their own websites here.

Gold award

In the UK, the Gold award is administered centrally by the RSCM. The examinations are arranged for June and November each year with entry deadlines of 1 May and 1 October respectively. Details of examination venues, and other information can be found here.

For details of Bronze, Silver and Gold awards outside the UK, please contact the RSCM on +44 (0)1722 424843 or voiceforlife(at)rscm.com.

Who should I contact if I have any further questions about Voice for Life or the Bronze, Silver and Gold awards?

Further advice and information can be obtained from the Administrator, Education programmes:
T: +44 (0)1722 424843, F 01722 424849, E: voiceforlife(at)rscm.com

Preparing for Bronze, Silver and Gold

In three articles from Church Music Quarterly, John Wardle, RSCM Awards Co-ordinator and Chief Examiner, offers advice about the awards to singers and choir trainers considering some of the following issues: ‘Why take the awards?’ ‘How to prepare for your exam’ and ‘Hitting the mark!’

Frequently-asked questions about Bronze and Silver awards

Candidates for Bronze and Silver awards should find answers to most of their questions here:

Help for Silver award candidates with Section E of the examination

Those preparing for the Silver award may find this helpful:

Results of the latest RSCM validated singing award examinations

Congratulations to all the successful candidates! These results are published in the March 2012 edition of Church Music Quarterly.

Results are listed under RSCM Areas and Countries.
‡indicates that a Diocesan award has been validated for local RSCM members.
IM = RSCM Individual Member

♦ Honours 90%+ (Gold)
** Distinction 85%+ (Bronze/Silver)
* Merit 75%+ (Bronze/Silver)

GOLD AWARD  
Bristol & Swindon: Alice Howse♦ (Westbury on Trym, Holy Trinity). Derbyshire: Helen Collins, Matthew Jankinson♦ (Derby Cathedral). Devon: Matilda Board (Colyton, St Andrew). Guildford: Harry Baker♦ (Dorking, St Martin), William Pickering (Guildford Cathedral). Lichfield: Christine Bown (Stafford, St Mary), Jonathan Frith, Hannah Larvin (Wolverhampton, St Peter). Oxford: Charlotte Watson (Aston Clinton, St Michael & All Angels), Harry Stanton (Wallingford, St Mary-Le-More). Peterborough & Northampton: Gill Dunn (Finedon, St Mary Virgin), Ann Knight (Higham Ferrers, St Mary). Portsmouth: Hannah Buonacorsi-How (Petersfield, St Peter). Ripon & Leeds: Harry Cockerham, Siubhan White (Knaresborough, St John Baptist). St Albans: Catherine Chapman♦, Zoe Harbour, Mark Wilson♦ (Boxmoor, St John), Alice Jullien (Gt Berkhamsted, St Peter). Scotland: Frances Barnett (Aberdeen, St Andrew’s Cathedral), Charles Rutt♦, Megan Thomson♦ (Bridge of Allan, St Saviour). Sheffield & S Yorkshire: Matthew Hills (Ranmoor, St John). Southwark & E Surrey: Rebekah Sturge (Merton, St James). Suffolk: Harry Thorpe (St Edmundsbury Cathedral). Sussex: Christian Pethick (Chichester Cathedral). Wakefield: Isaac Cooper (Pontefract, St Giles). Wessex: Adam Soul♦ (Sherborne Abbey). Winchester: Sarah Still (Bassett, St Michael & All Angels).

SILVER STANDARD  
Bradford: Lizzie Bell, Sophia Daramy-Williams, Lauren O’Hara (Bradford Cathedral). Bristol & Swindon: Barney Pite**, Reuben Staples-Burton* (Bristol, St Mary Redcliffe). Chester: Graham Fisher (Eastham, St Mary), Emily Bancroft*, Lucy Devine*, Sarah McBeath, Aylwen Williams* (Macclesfield, St Michael & All Angels). Coventry: Katherine Owen*, Rachel Owen*, Sarah Owen* (Earlsdon, St Barbara). Cornwall: Harriet Dawson**, Emily Kane*, Amy Meeson**, Florence Pillman** (Launceston, St Joseph’s School), Brenda Mitchell (Launceston, St Mary Magdalene), Paul Holmes* (Pencoys, St Andrew). Derbyshire: Emma Anderson*, Imogen Stables** (Barlborough, St James), Olivia Barnard, Anna Edmunds (Darley Abbey), Zoe Lawrence*, Ruth Webster** (Derby Cathedral). Essex & E London‡: Alex Frosch, Imogen Hayter, Eddie Healey*, Sam McKinnon*, Ruby Savill-Downs** (Brentwood, St Thomas of Canterbury), Joshua Roche* (Chelmsford Cathedral), Jade McCarthy (Chingford PC). Gwent: Oliver Barton**, Cobus McCarthy (Newport Cathedral). Lancashire: Jarod Donohoe*, James Murray*, Harry Spencer (Broughton, St John). Leicester: Catherine Farmilo*, Pippa Judge, Billy Stevely*, Kirstin Stevely*, Elizabeth Tobin*, Madeleine Welland (Leicester, St James the Greater). Lichfield: Deana McEleny* (Castle Church, St Mary), Rebecca Lovatt*, Taylor Ludlow* (Penn, St Bartholomew), Jack Gregory*, Amy Price* (Wolverhampton, St Peter). Liverpool: Charlotte Burgess*, Elizabeth Burgess* (Crossens, St John). London: Sarah Foster** (Harrow on the Hill, St Mary), Eleanor Burke* (Highgate School), Ayodele Adesina* (Mill Hill, St Paul), Matthew Cooper*, James Rich* (Pinner PC). Oxford: John Fothergill*, Harry Scurlock* (Marlow, All Saints). Rochester & W Kent: Victoria Stanley* (Belvedere, All Saints), Charles Cooper* (Bromley, St Mark), Isabel Parkhouse* (Farnborough, St Giles), Alexander Penfold (North Cray, St James), Rachael Bratt*, David Tillotson* (Shortlands, St Mary). St Albans: Emily Giddens, Sophie Kesterton, Mercedes Smart (Dunstable Priory), Peter Sequeira* (Welwyn Garden City, St Francis). Sussex: Vikki Cook (Battle, St Mary Virgin). USA: Avi DePano** (Houston, TX, Palmer Methodist church). Wessex‡: Tina Cox, Katie Newham, Krystie Newham* (Amesbury Abbey). Winchester: David Budd*, Nick Budd, Joy Windsor** (Alton, St Lawrence), Theo James (Boldre, St John), Virginia Osborne* (Lymington, St Thomas), Oliver Jarrett-Kerr*, Tricia Renwick* (Old Basing, St Mary). Worcestershire: Hannah Dix** (Belbroughton, Holy Trinity), Maria Darnborough**, Sophie Ellis*, Abigail Weatherill (Malvern Priory), Beth Holman*, Peter Thomson* (Old Swinford, St Mary). 

BRONZE STANDARD  
Bradford: Alex Duggan*, Jade Tyrer* (Bradford Cathedral). Bristol & Swindon: Constance Pite** (Bristol, St Mary Redcliffe). Canterbury: Patricia Keen*, Valerie Mills* (Preston-next-Faversham, St Catherine). Chester: Hollie Hughes (Eastham, St Mary). Cornwall: Anne Wilkening* (Falmouth, King Charles Martyr), Wendy Andrews*, Yvonne Bates*, Susan Hall*, Janice Roddy**, Paul Roddy** (Laudate), Hannah Carnegie**, Naomi Gillies**, Emily Langton*, Kate Marks*, Elizabeth Maunder* (Launceston, St Joseph’s School), Andrew Dunning*, Pat Tremain* (Launceston, St Mary Magdalene), Kim Thomas (Pencoys, St Andrew). Derbyshire: Callum Brown*, Daniel Evans, Josh Short (Ashbourne, St Oswald), Kizzy Austick , Anna Groves (Darley Abbey), George Gatford**, Philip Holloway**, Imogen McMorrow* (Derby Cathedral), Matthew Holt  (New Mills, St George), Emily Hall (Old Brampton, Ss Peter & Paul). Essex & E London: Denzel Anusi**, Chloe Donnithorne* (Chingford PC). Gwent: Luke Jones*, Rio Montes-Robins (Newport Cathedral). Lancashire: Robert Haworth (Broughton, St John), Eleanor Tomlinson** (Burnley, St Peter), Sophie Byram, Amy Docherty (Morecambe PC). Leicester: Leah Bartlett*, Brandon Brittan*, Alexander Coles*, Hannah Cowley**, Francis Gurman**, Joseph Gurman*, Matilda Ireson**, Alexander Morris, Emma Nisbet*, Isabella Zielonka (Leicester, St James the Greater), David Clare** (Loughborough Endowed Schools). Lichfield: Millie Boulton** (Oswestry, St Oswald), Jacob McAuliffe*, Amy Richards (Penn, St Bartholomew), Abigail Wild** (Shifnal, St Andrew), Isabella Corness-Parr*, Sophia Corness-Parr*, Lucas Hurley*, Edward Phillips* (Wolverhampton, St Peter). Liverpool: Andrew Gaskell**, Joseph Peacock** (Lowton, St Luke), Chloe Clark*, Alyssa Dawber*, Ellis Waldron (Prescot, St Mary Virgin). London: Nicholas Davison*, Thomas Fisher** (Finchley, St Mary), Suzan Castledine** (Harrow on the Hill, St Mary), Sophie Allen*, Megan Cottingham*, Joelly Fearn* (Mill Hill, St Paul), Nicola Forth*, Anna Gould**, Thomas Reeve* (Pinner PC), Daniel Richards (Ruislip Manor, St Paul). Oxford: Erin Fitzsimons*, Beatrice Law* (Aylesbury, St Mary), Edmund Westley* (Caversham, St Peter), Daniel Watters* (Shipton-under-Wychwood, St Mary Virgin), Sophie Ahern* (Wheatley, St Mary Virgin), Suprovo Banerjee*, Ria Brombley**, Charlotte Evershed**, Josephine Rippon** (Wokingham, All Saints). Rochester & W Kent: Richard Decker**, Georgia Lydon* (Belvedere, All Saints), Hannah Fruin (Farnborough, St Giles), Adele Bland*, Georgia Kitchener*, Philippa Trollope (Leybourne, Ss Peter & Paul), Charles Kingston**, George Palmer** (Rusthall, St Paul). Somerset: Sarah Wynne* (Quantock Towers Benefice). Sussex: Veronika Buckwell (Arundel Cathedral), Avril Banting, Sheila Cochrane, Brenda Yates* (Findon Chorale), Lauren Finch (Hurstpierpoint, Holy Trinity), Nicole Matthews**, Rebecca Matthews (Old Shoreham, St Nicolas), Jenna Wells* (West Tarring, St Andrew). USA: Chloe Harwood*, Amanda Higby, Read Wilder* (Tucson, AZ, St Philip’s in the Hills), Quinn Kess** (West Hartford, CT, St James). Wakefield: Emily Johnson*, Ellie Pither (Luddenden, St Mary). Winchester: Anneliese Handley**, Timothy Handley*, Francesca Lawrence (Alton, St Lawrence), Hana Gough, Eleanor McLean, Rachael Stevens* (Old Basing, St Mary). Worcestershire: Anne Cuthbertson* (Beoley, St Leonard), Rowan Jackson, Jessica Reeves*, Heather Striplin** (Malvern Priory), Olivia Berwick, Martha Gaytten (Old Swinford, St Mary), Bryn Batten*, Charlie Cliff*, Edward Hill, Henry James*, Asher Wood*, Judah Wood* (Worcester Cathedral Voluntary choir).