Oakham School's chamber choir are celebrating their success this week after impressing competition judges on Sunday.

The 25-strong choir travelled to Sheffield to compete in the area selection of the competition where they were applauded by the judges Tim Sutton and Stuart Barr, for their energetic performance and highly contrasting programme.

But it was a nervous wait for the final result.

Oakham School's director of music, Peter Davis, said: "We were involved in a choral workshop while we waited, which was enjoyable but nerve-wracking, so we were all overjoyed to hear that we'd reached the third stage of the competition.

"We will be eager to learn whether we are picked for the Youth Choir final now, but will have to wait patiently until the judges meet on June 18."

The choir performed three pieces accompanied by Anne Bolt, head of piano at the school and 6th form music scholar, Georgia Gibson-Smith who lives in Oakham. They were an arrangement of the spiritual Wade in the Water, Schubert's partsong Lebenslust and When Clarions Sound by Mack Wilberg.

Mr Davis said: "We were up against some very tough competition on the day, including four area youth choirs, and were singing in a large conference centre with a difficult acoustic.

"Our singers really rose to the challenge though, performing a very varied programme of choral music from memory."

The choir was selected as one of the Youth Choirs of the Day and will now go forward to the national selection stage of the competition. A recording of their performance on Sunday will be compared with other top youth choirs from around the country in order to pick six choirs to progress to the Youth Choir final in Liverpool in November as part of Liverpool.

The choir were finalists in the Youth Choir competition when it was last held in 2006.