Alice Halstead won the coveted title of “BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year 2008”.  On Friday 31 October 2008, four boys and four girls competed in St. Paul’s Cathedral, London, after being successful in reaching the competition final by coming through a rigorous selection process from hundreds of entries, representing the finest religious choral talent from across the United Kingdom.

For the preliminary rounds of the BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year 2008 competition Alice submitted a CD, along with hundreds of others, singing a well known hymn and an anthem.  She chose the hymn "When A Knight Won His Spurs", words by Jan Struther (1901-1953), to the traditional English melody arranged and harmonised by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958).  Her anthem choice was "Corpus Christi Carol" from A Boy was Born by Benjamin Britten (1913-1976).

In the final Alice sang "When A Knight Won His Spurs" again, and "Ave Maria" by Michael Head (1900-1976).  The winners sang a duet (Alice with Harry Bradford) of "The Father's Love" by Simon Lole (b. 1957).

Her year of being BBC Radio 2 Young Chorister of the Year 2008 was full of amazing experiences and incredible opportunities.  During that year she:

• Appeared several times on BBC One Songs of Praise

• Recorded excerpts from the Messiah for BBC Radio 2 in St. Paul's Cathedral with the BBC Concert Orchestra in front of an audience of over 2,000 people for “At The Foot of the Cross” with Ken Bruce and Emilia Fox, broadcast on Good Friday.

• Recorded for BBC Radio 2 Sunday Half Hour with Fr Brian D'Arcy in Belfast, Manchester and Wells Cathedral

• Performed in a celebrity concert in the Royal Hospital Chapel, Chelsea, helping to raise £75,000 for the Institute of Cancer Research

• Led the singing twice for BBC Radio 4’s Daily Service

• Sang live on BBC Radio WM from Birmingham Symphony Hall for Ed Doolan on the same day as taking part in Friday Night is Music Night from London live on BBC Radio 2 with Aled Jones, Ailish Tynan, Sue Perkins, the BBC Concert Orchestra and London Voices;

• Was interviewed by Aled Jones on Good Morning Sunday

• Recorded for Fr Stuart Windsor’s programme "Christmas Solidarity Worldwide" on Premier Christian Radio on Boxing Day

• Sang solo in the Magnificat by Stanford in G on Radio 4's Sunday Worship from St Alphege Church, Solihull on Mothering Sunday

• Sang "O for the Wings of a Dove" on “In Tune” with Sean Rafferty live from Birmingham Town Hall as part of  BBC Radio 3's Mendelssohn weekend in May 2009