After reaching the final of the prestigious BBC Young Chorister of the Year 2021 competition, Jake Thomson of St Mary’s Cathedral in Edinburgh gave a performance described by one of the judges as “absolutely beautiful” but it wasn’t quite enough to land the title.

Twelve-year-old Jake, from North Berwick, had reached the last six of three boys and three girls after his performance of Be Thou My Vision in the semi-final impressed the trio of judges. In the final, all competitors sang a Christmas Carol, with Jake choosing Bethlehem Down by Peter Warlock.

Judge David Grant said: “This song really focuses on the telling of the story and there was an assured ease at the bottom of his voice. I feel Jake is a very strong singer.”

Fellow judge Lesley Garrett said to Jake: “You created a wonderful atmosphere here. You could have heard a pin drop; it was spell-binding. You drew us to you to hear this interesting story. I could hear the foretelling of the suffering of Christ.

“I loved the bottom of your voice – that C-sharp was just gorgeous. I don’t think you are quite as comfortable [at the top] as you are with the lower sounds, but you can afford to be. I thought that was an absolutely beautiful performance.”

Alas for Jake, despite this high praise, the standard of singing among the finalists at Salisbury Cathedral was exceptional and it was 16-year-old Ruby from Guildford who was chosen as the winner after what the judges acclaimed as a “flawless” performance. The runner-up was 14-year-old Mila from Rochdale.

Jake joined Ruby and all the semi-finalists at the end of the show for a special arrangement of John Rutter’s Angels’ Carols led by presenter Aled Jones.

Young Chorister of the Year was staged jointly by BBC Radio 2 and Songs of Praise. Hundreds of contestants entered this year, aged from 10 years up to and including 16 years. Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said: “To hear all these young voices perform is mesmerising and I’m sure it was a very difficult decision for the judges. Congratulations and well done from everyone at Radio 2 to all the finalists.”

The final can be watched again here.