A GROUP of South Lakeland children could be Christmas No.1 after featuring in the BBC Children In Need charity single with celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone.

The children of Sunbeams Music Trust, which runs music therapy sessions for youngsters with special needs, will also appear in a two part documentary about the making of the single.

The track – a choral version of Avicii’s hit ‘Wake Me Up’ – features an all star choir of untrained voices including Jo Brand, Fabrice Muamba and Craig Revel-Horwood.

Gareth visited Sandgate School in Kendal with a crew from Twenty Twenty Film Productions for a special Sunbeams session, to record snippets of audio of the children to incorporate into the song.

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The TV presenter described the experience as ‘heartwarming’, saying: “It’s been lovely to see some of the work that’s funded by Children In Need.

“A project like this shows the power of music – it doesn’t matter who you are or what difficulties you have, you can still enjoy it.

“It’s great to see so many committed professionals here providing a quality music experience for the children.”

As a result of Gareth’s recordings, the single begins with an introduction from Kendal eight-year-old Oliver Cunningham, who has quadriplegic cerebral palsy and speaks through a computer controlled by his eye movements.

The single was broadcast for the first time on Saturday on BBC Radio One’s Alice Levine show.

Annie Mawson MBE, Founder and Chief Executive of Sunbeams, said: “The experience of having Gareth here was fantastic – he’s a lovely man with no ego at all.

“I was quite stunned at the way the children responded to him – they sang for two hours without a break, which was stunning and we were so proud of them.

“With our sessions we try and improve mobility, co-ordination and physical and mental wellbeing, as well as having fun, and I think he could see that was happening.”

Sunbeams was founded in 1992 and now has around 50 families on its books – the Trust has been involved with Children In Need since 1997.

The documentary is due to air on BBC One on November 3 and 10, and the single can be pre-ordered at http://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/wake-me-up-official-bbc-children/id932493757.