The King’s Barbers have won this year’s National Youth a Cappella Competition.

The all-boys a cappella group, who celebrated their 25th anniversary last year, discovered in February that they had qualified for the competition.

Entries for the contest were submitted by video and judged by a panel.

The King’s Barbers, along with their founder and coach, Peter North, travelled to the University of Birmingham for the event on April 14.

They were crowned UK Youth Champions after singing Coldplay’s Viva La Vida, Bastille’s Pompeii, Some Nights by Fun, and Ricky Martin’s La Vida Loca, each performance specially arranged by Mr North.

It was the second time that the King’s Barbers had qualified for the competition but this is the first time they have won. They were runners-up last year.

Mr North, who is also head of voice at King’s Ely, said: “The boys were a pleasure to be with and performed brilliantly in the competition.

“We took part in several workshops and also watched the University Final and Beat Box Sing Off.

“We had a good following of enthusiastic parents who were immensely proud of their sons.

“The judges described their performance as bold and the joy they have in their singing really shone through.

“The boys are overjoyed to have won and we couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Members of the King’s Barbers are all former cathedral or college choir choristers. They sing everything from timeless classics to contemporary a cappella songs.

The group was founded to introduce the boys to different performance styles. Former members have sung in some of the most successful groups in the a Cappella scene, including All the King’s Men and Out of the Blue.