Day: September 11, 2026

Every Primary School in Scotland to receive free singing resource as The National Youth Choir of Scotland celebrates 30 years

The National Youth Choir of Scotland (NYCOS) is marking its 30th anniversary by launching an ambitious initiative designed to help bring singing back into classrooms across the country. 
 
Arriving in schools from September, NYCOS Singing Time is a free online resource that will be gifted to every primary school in Scotland, providing teachers with accessible, engaging singing materials developed by one of the country’s most influential music education organisations. 
 
Created as the centrepiece of NYCOS’s 30th anniversary celebrations, the initiative brings together three decades of expertise in youth singing, musicianship and music education. Featuring 15 songs and accompanying singing games, the resource is designed to help children experience the joy of singing while developing musical understanding through play. The films were directed and edited by Lewis Landini and feature three young presenters – Connor Going, Holly Clelland, and Tawana Maramba. 
 
The launch comes at a time when many teachers report feeling less confident about teaching singing and music in the classroom, while opportunities for young people to sing together have declined. NYCOS Singing Time aims to remove those barriers by providing a free, easy-to-use resource that can be accessed by any primary school, regardless of musical experience or budget. 
 
Based on the Kodály principles that have shaped NYCOS’s educational approach for three decades, the resource uses games, movement and age-appropriate repertoire to help children absorb musical concepts naturally and joyfully. The songs span a range of traditions and languages, including English, Scots and Gaelic, reflecting both Scotland’s cultural heritage and NYCOS’s belief that singing should be open and accessible to all. 
 
More than simply a teaching resource, NYCOS Singing Time represents what the organisation describes as a “gift to Scotland” as it celebrates a milestone birthday. 

Founded in 1996 by conductor Christopher Bell, NYCOS was created at a time when opportunities for young singers at regional level were disappearing across Scotland due to local government reorganisation.

What began as a single national youth choir has grown into a nationwide organisation that supports thousands of young people every year through regional choirs, national ensembles, schools’ programmes, teacher training and creative learning initiatives. 
 
Over the past 30 years, NYCOS has helped shape Scotland’s singing culture at every level. Its national choirs have performed on some of the world’s leading stages, from the Edinburgh International Festival and BBC Proms to major international tours, while its regional choir network has enabled young people across Scotland to experience the social, educational and artistic benefits of singing close to home. 
 
The organisation’s influence extends far beyond music. For three decades, NYCOS has championed the well-documented benefits of singing for confidence, self-esteem, communication, social connection, literacy and learning.

Thousands of young people have passed through its choirs, many going on to careers in music and the arts, while others have taken the skills, resilience and friendships they developed through singing into every walk of life. 

As NYCOS enters its fourth decade, the organisation believes the need for collective singing among young people has never been greater. Alongside NYCOS Singing Time, the charity is marking its anniversary year with a series of major initiatives designed to widen participation and create new pathways into singing. 
 
On 16 September, NYCOS will launch a new Glasgow Regional Choir, expanding its network of regional choirs and creating opportunities for even more young people to sing regularly in their local communities. 
 
Earlier this year, the organisation launched the NYCOS BSL Youth Choir bringing together Deaf and hearing young people from across Scotland in what is believed to be the first ensemble of its kind in Scotland.

Developed in partnership with leading accessible music practitioner Paul Whittaker OBE, the choir enables young British Sign Language users aged 14-18 to experience the creativity, connection and shared expression of choral performance through sign language. The ensemble made its debut at the Opening Ceremony of the Scottish Parliament on 27th June 2026. 

The anniversary programme also includes, for the first time, Full Circle, an initiative designed to nurture the next generation of choral leaders in Scotland. Accomplished former NYCOS singers are invited to train as musicianship teachers, enabling them to return to the organisation’s regional choirs and support the next generation of young singers.

Led by internationally respected Kodály specialist and NYCOS Creative Learning Director Lucinda Geoghegan, the first cohort of 21 participants have undertaken intensive training before being placed within regional choirs across Scotland, where they have observed classes, taught alongside experienced staff and begun leading their own musicianship sessions.  

The celebrations culminate with NYCOS’s 30th anniversary tour and a landmark gala performance at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on 13th September.

At the heart of the programme is Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana, a work that holds a special place in NYCOS history as the first major piece performed by the choir when it was founded in 1996, then comprised of only 60 singers.

In August 2026, the choir performed the work in Paisley, Aberdeen and Perth alongside regional choirs from across the country.

The gala performance at Usher Hall will bring together 170 young singers with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. 

Christopher Bell, Founder and Artistic Director of NYCOS, said: “Thirty years ago, we set out with a very simple belief: Scotland needs a National Youth Choir to develop and showcase the talent of its young singers. Since then, we have expanded beyond our dreams and have created one of the largest and most dynamic youth organisations in Europe.  

“Thousands of young people have sung with us over the last three decades. We have seen singing transform confidence, create lifelong friendships and open doors that many young people never thought possible.

“NYCOS Singing Time is our gift to Scotland as we celebrate this anniversary year. We want every child, in every primary school, to have the opportunity to sing.

“If we can help bring singing back into more classrooms, then we can help another generation discover the same joy, confidence and sense of belonging that singing has given so many young people over the last 30 years.

“When young people sing together, something remarkable happens. They learn to listen, to communicate, to work together and to express themselves. Those benefits extend far beyond music, and that is why this work remains so important today.” 
 
NYCOS Singing Time is available online at https://nycossingingtime.co.uk/ 

Court fight launched over West End development

Case “raises bigger questions over Scotland’s planning system”

A COURT of Session challenge has been launched against the Scottish Ministers’ decision to approve a controversial 544-bed visitor accommodation development in Edinburgh’s historic West End.

The Statutory Appeal seeks to have the Scottish Government Reporter’s decision quashed, arguing that serious errors were made in the way the application was considered.

The legal challenge relates to plans to transform four Category A-listed Georgian townhouses at 14-17 Atholl Crescent, within Edinburgh’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, into high-density pod-style visitor accommodation.

Philip Flockhart, conservation architect and spokesperson for the residents, said: “The decision to pursue a Court of Session challenge has not been taken lightly and the legal arguments will now be considered through that process.

“The wider issue, which goes beyond one development, is that this was an exceptionally large and complex proposal and Edinburgh’s elected Development Management Sub Committee never had the opportunity to consider it.”

The application was taken to the Scottish Government after the council’s deadline for reaching a decision had passed, before it had reached Edinburgh’s Development Management Sub-Committee. As a result, locally elected councillors never had the opportunity to vote on the proposals.

Concerns about the way the application moved through the planning process have been raised by elected representatives from across the political spectrum.

In a written response to Cllr Adam Nols-McVey, who raised deep concerns about the situation surrounding the Atholl Crescent development, Cllr Hal Osler, convener of Edinburgh’s Development Management Sub-Committee, said she was “deeply disappointed” that the committee had not been given the chance to determine the application.

She said: “This was an extremely complicated application that required both planning permission and listed building consent. The statutory decision-making timescale for both applications is set at two months.

“Prior to the agent exercising their right to appeal non-determination, the officer sought to agree an extension of time with the agent to allow submission of additional information to support the assessment.”

The case comes amid wider pressure on Edinburgh’s planning system. Council figures show that 2,434 applications, 54% of those determined between August 2024 and July 2026, were decided after the point at which applicants became entitled to appeal on grounds of non-determination.

Residents have stressed that their concern is not with Edinburgh’s planning officers, who are dealing with significant workloads and pressure on resources. Instead, they believe the case raises a wider question about whether the current system gives councils enough time and support to properly consider particularly large and complex applications before an applicant becomes entitled to take the matter to appeal.

Mr Flockhart added: “We have sympathy with planning officers working under enormous pressure. The question is whether the current system gives councils and communities sufficient protection when major applications reach a statutory deadline before local democratic scrutiny has taken place.

“Edinburgh needs investment and it needs places for visitors to stay. This is not about opposing appropriate development or tourism. It is about making sure people can have confidence in how major planning decisions are made.”

More than 280 objections were lodged against the proposals, which were also opposed by all four local ward councillors and the area’s MP, Dr Scott Arthur.

The Cockburn Association previously warned that the development would cause “substantial and irreversible harm”, while the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland raised concerns about the “scale and intensity” of the proposed use.

Dr Scott Arthur MP said: “I remain deeply disappointed by the decision to approve this development. The scale and 24-hour nature of the proposal raises legitimate concerns around residential amenity, noise, safety and the impact on the surrounding area.

“I respect the planning process and the role of the Reporter, but I continue to stand with residents who have raised serious and reasonable concerns about this development.”

Cllr Claire Miller, Green councillor for the city centre ward, said: “While the planning decision was extremely disappointing, I’m really pleased that the community is pulling together and I’ll be supporting their decision to lodge a Statutory Appeal.

“Our planning system is skewed in favour of developers and so I believe it’s important to support local residents to have their say when it comes to large applications like this hostel and that local decision making is respected.”

Cllr Finlay McFarlane, SNP councillor for the city centre ward, said: “I am certainly impressed at the resolution of the residents that they are continuing to take this forward.

“For them not to have had their say through the planning process is an absolute betrayal and I wish them well.”

Cllr Jo Mowat, Scottish Conservatives councillor for the city centre ward, said: “It is disappointing that residents are having to take the further action in this matter but encouraging that they are now able to make their case legally.

“Such decisions are best made locally, not by distant bureaucrats, and this whole episode epitomises the much wider issue of local democracy and planning reform which the Scottish Government urgently needs to address. ”  

Liberal Democrat spokeperson and former City Centre councillor Charlie Dundas, said: “My main concern is the by-passing of local democracy by going straight to the national reporter.  Local voices need to be heard and the Council should be able to do its job. This feels like a loophole which needs to be closed.”

Among the further issues raised in the Statutory Appeal is the scale of the development itself. Although the proposals have consistently been presented as providing approximately 544 beds, the appeal argues that the planning permission contains no restriction on the number of beds or pod units which could ultimately be provided.

The Reporter concluded that the number of beds within a Class 7 hotel could not be controlled through the planning process. The appeal argues that conditions restricting the number of beds, pods and rooms containing pods could have been imposed and that without them there is no restriction on the development’s overall bed capacity.

Jocelyn Cunliffe, of the Architectural Heritage Society of Scotland, said: “This case raises a wider question about whether Scotland’s planning system is equipped to protect historic buildings and local communities when dealing with increasingly intensive uses.

“If the number of beds cannot be controlled through the planning process, it is reasonable to ask how the intensity of use of a historic building can be properly assessed and managed. That is an issue which goes far beyond Atholl Crescent.”

The appeal also raises questions about the assessment of the impact on nearby residents and refers to previous decisions involving much smaller short-term visitor accommodation proposals in the surrounding area.

It additionally argues that the Reporter considered the expired 2017-2022 World Heritage Site Management Plan rather than the current 2025-2035 plan, as well as raising questions over the assessment of infrastructure contributions towards Edinburgh’s tram network.

The Statutory Appeal asks the Court of Session to consider a series of questions of law, including whether the Reporter erred in law, failed to have regard to material considerations, failed to interpret development plan policy properly and whether the decision should be quashed.