It is recorded that young girl oblates spent many hours each day singing in the nunnery quires of early medieval England, though the practice of child oblation was banned durng the thirteenth or fourteenth century. Thus were girls denied the opportunity of being choristers for hundreds of years until St Edmundsbury Cathedral ended the boy only tradition in the 1970s.
In 1991, Salisbury Cathedral introduced the practice of maintaining two distinct choirs - one of boy choristers and one of girl choristers. The majority of cathedrals now follow this tradition. Bristol maintains 14 boy choristers and 14 girl choristers, all of whom are educated at Bristol Cathedral Choir School, the only state funded Academy choir school in England.
In 1993, Bristol also pioneered a choir for 11- 18 year old girls drawn from throughout greater Bristol. This girls' choir is not part of the chorister outreach scheme, but it does provide an excellent opportunity for girls who do not attend the Cathedral Choir School to sing to a high standard on a regular basis.
There are arguments for and against mixing the voices, but a chorister outreach visit to your school will bring both boy and girl choristers. The boys and girls will be equally keen to encourage younger boys and girls with their singing and equally hospitable in welcoming you to an informal schools concert.
