LOCAL school pupils will be taking part in this year’s Children and Need choir live on TV.

Pupils from Stanley Primary, Auchenharvie Academy, Corsehill Primary and Garnock Community Campus will join more than 1,500 others to sing as part of the BBC Children in Need Appeal on Friday, November 17.

The youngsters will be singing a beautiful jazz rendition of Over the Rainbow across 10 different locations around the UK.

In addition to singing, the talented children from Lawthorn Primary in Irvine will also be performing this year’s song in sign language.

One of the locations is BBC Scotland Pacific Quay in Glasgow, where choir master Andrew Paton will lead 123 pupils aged between eight and 15 years old and from 13 schools across Ayrshire in song.

All of the schools have now begun rehearsals in preparation for their harmonious debut during the appeal show, and audiences are encouraged to tune in on the night.

This year will see an all-star presenter line-up including Mel Giedroyc, Graham Norton, Tess Daly, Ade Adepitan, Rochelle Humes and Marvin Humes host a night of entertainment for the whole family.

Now in its seventh year, the Children’s Choir is regarded as one of the highlights of the annual appeal show. Last year, the choir sang ‘Lean on Me’ by Bill Withers, and in previous years Simon and Garfunkel’s 1970s ballad ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’.

BBC Children in Need currently funds 21 projects across Ayrshire with funding of more than £1.1million hard at work across the county.

Supporting the charity this year would help fund even more projects just like the Ayrshire Hospice which receives a grant of more than £100,000, delivered over three years, to fund a therapeutic play worker who will deliver targeted interventions for a number of bereaved children across Ayrshire, including specialist one to one play therapy and group work with peers who have had similar experiences.

The choirs will sing in unison from nine other UK locations including: Ulster Folk and Transport Museum just outside of Belfast, Broadcasting House in Cardiff, the Albert Hall in Nottingham, the Discovery Museum in Newcastle, Piece Hall in Halifax, the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester, the Aerospace Museum in Bristol, Brockhurst and Marlston House Schools in Newbury, and Elstree Studios in London.

BBC Children in Need will return to screens on Friday, November 17 on BBC One. The official fundraising pack is available for download from bbc.co.uk/Pudsey and is packed with ideas to help the public with their fundraising efforts, plus lots of exclusive content from the charity’s celebrity friends. To date £909 million has been raised to benefit children and young people across the UK and the charity is calling on people to once again pull out the stops and to help raise money.