In their final performance at Sexey’s School, the Sixth Form Choir has performed a moving signed performance of True Colours, sung by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick.

With Covid restrictions preventing singing in choirs, the Sixth Form Choir decided to learn to sign sing (where choristers expressively perform a sign language version of the lyrics while a song is played) – famously depicted in the film Napoleon Dynamite for example. They learnt to sing in British Sign Language from scratch, performing Keane’s Somewhere Only We Know at Easter (which can be viewed via the Easter Newsletter, page 10, here).

Head Girl Alice M wrote of the final performance:

“The Sixth Form Sing and Sign Choir sadly met for the last time last Monday, as all members are now leaving the school after finishing our A Level assessments. However, we could not leave without recording one last song. This time we chose True Colours, sung by Justin Timberlake and Anna Kendrick. We chose this song, not only because of our love for the Trolls movie, but also because the imagery used in the song is really beautiful when translated to BSL. The words “beautiful” and “rainbow” quickly became some of our favourite signs. The song also helped us extend our BSL vocabulary, as it was so different from other songs we had learnt. The choir has fostered a love in almost all members for BSL, and many plan to enrol in courses and clubs to continue their learning of the language. Learning BSL through music has been so helpful and enjoyable and I would recommend anyone thinking about joining the choir next year to go for it. On behalf of the choir, I would like to thank Mr Whitford-Williams for bringing Sing and Sign to the school. It has truly been a joy to be a part of.”

You can view Alice, Charlotte, Elsie, Imogen and Jasmine’s performance of True Colours, supported by Mr Whitford-Williams here: