A choir made up of students from seven east Kent schools will perform at the county’s annual teaching awards.

The Big Sing is a project drawing together young performers from Dover Christ Church Academy, Herne Bay High School, Spires Academy, St Anselm’s Catholic School, King’s School Canterbury, St Edmund’s School Canterbury and St Lawrence College Ramsgate.

One of their first performances will be held at the Ashford International Hotel in May when they will perform a medley of Beatles classics for 50 top teachers, support staff and school volunteers.

This week rehearsals were underway with Herne Bay High hosting the combined choir. Lemon Otter is musical director.

Simon Dolby from Inspire Schools, the educational charity that stages the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards, said: “It will be wonderful to have this fantastic choir perform at these important annual awards. I am so grateful to East Kent Schools Together for working with us.”

East Kent Schools Together is an independent-state school partnership, in which each school contributes and draws from the partnership on an equal footing for the benefit of all.

Christina Aston of East Kent Schools Together, said: “Singing together is well known to promote well-being and the EKST Big Sing choir encourages those who have little or no experience of singing to develop their confidence whilst making friends with students from other schools.”

• The Big Sing will join the adult choir the Lemon Zingers to perform at the Beaney Museum, Canterbury on Saturday 23 March between 11am and noon. The event is free.