Peterborough girl (12) reflects on TV singing final appearance

Twelve-year-old Jasmine Barnes, from Werrington, sang The Little Road To Bethlehem in the final, on Sunday’s Songs of Praise on BBC1. She had booked her place in the final three sing-off after wowing the judges with her rendition of Pie Jesu in the semi-final two weeks ago.

This time the judges were equally complimentary, with Welsh singing star Katherine Jenkins praising her "beautiful voice".

Composer Bob Chilcott declared that he “loved it”, telling the King’s School Year 7 pupil: "The way your voice worked was just lovely, and I was very touched by it. It was very controlled and you had a very sweet but actually compelling sound all the way through.”

And award winning musician YolanDa Brown praised her “wonderful tone, just crystal clear all the way through, and I loved that this piece showed off your range.”

Although she didn’t lift the title, Jasmine, a chorister at Peterborough Cathedral, said it had been an “amazing experience,” and she was thrilled to meet presenters Aled Jones and the Rev Kate Bottley while filming in Manchester.

"It was so exciting singing in front of the audience and all the TV cameras – after the semi-final I couldn’t wait to do it again,” she said.

“I had never done anything like this before so the comments from the judges were just incredible and so inspiring.

"It made me feel so proud.”