Churches and cathedrals are likely to be packed for carol concerts at this time of year, sung by choirs established up to 500 years ago.
But many of those choirs are finding it increasingly difficult to find the boys aged seven to 13 to lend their distinctive, unbroken treble voices.
Churches say they are competing against the “religion of football”, shopping on Sundays and the perception that singing in choirs is a “bit sissy”.
And with classical music training increasingly disappearing from schools some groups are having to think carefully about how to safeguard the “traditional” choirs of English cathedrals, collegiate churches and Chapels Royal.
But the debate begins with defining what exactly that is.
The Campaign for the Traditional Cathedral Choir firmly believes it involves an all-male line-up and says: “The future of the English choirboy is increasingly in doubt.”
Peter Giles who started the group 14 years ago, believes choirboys may be gone in a generation’s time and in the majority of parish churches all-male choirs have already vanished.
He estimates there are only eight or nine cathedrals in England where females do not now sing with males.
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