Christmas has come early for a former Putney High School student after she won BBC Radio 3’s ‘compose a carol’ competition.

Jessie Reeves won the competition, which challenged non-professional composers to create music for a modern version of medieval poem ‘Alleluia, a new work is come on hand’.

The Putney High School alumna has written a new Christmas carol each year since she was 11 after being inspired by her former school’s own ‘compose a carol’ competition, which she won many times.

She said: “'I can't quite believe I've won, it's all so exciting.

“Writing carols is something I've loved doing for so many years, it's wonderful to have gone from winning the carol competition at my school to winning a national competition.

“I'm so grateful to the teachers at Putney High School for instilling in me a love of music and of composing, it is something which I appreciate every day.”

The carol will be performed by BBC singers and broadcast on BBC Radio throughout Christmas Day having already featured on Radio 3, the Today Program and Radio 5 Live.

David Hill, BBC Singers chief conductor, said “Jessie’s produced something that is a little bit of an earworm, it’s a wonderful melody. I wouldn’t be surprised if people start singing it through the rest of the day.”

The competition winner is now teaching at Coloma Convent Girls School in Croydon where she is on her PGCE placement from the University of Sussex.

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