Hundreds of Gloucester schoolchildren will be coming together this Friday (May 27) for the first concerts to celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

Rehearsals have been taking place throughout May for a repertoire delivered by Creative Field which includes traditional songs and sea shanties for the Tall Ships.

Local primary schoolchildren will be joined in the series of concerts by the Ecclesiastical Insurance Staff Choir, City of Gloucester Community Choir, and Gaudeamus.

The concerts have been designed to allow as many people as possible to take part in the celebration and include residential homes and public parks and city churches.

Read With Me (www.readwithme.org.uk ) has supported the project with funding from the Arts Council's Let's Create Jubilee Fund through Gloucestershire Community Foundation - ensuring that creativity plays an important role in local community celebrations for Her Majesty The Queen's Platinum Jubilee.

The Let's Create Jubilee Fund will ensure that thousands of people from communities all across England will have the opportunity to take part in exciting creative events - all in celebration of the Platinum Jubilee.

From puppetry and story creation through to making crowns, carnival and art trails, there will be a huge range of exciting activities for people of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in.

Charlotte Holloway, assistant head of school, Grange Primary, said: "The sessions are joyous and uplifting - delivered with passion and inspiration. I can't believe how lucky we are to be part of such a wonderful celebration.

"The whole experience brings weekly cheer and happiness to our Grange community - just what we needed after such a challenging couple of years."

Made possible thanks to National Lottery players and administered by UK Community Foundations on behalf of the Arts Council, the Let's Create Jubilee Fund will support a huge range of projects throughout England. Forty-four community foundations have been awarding grants across the country.

Darren Henley, chief executive at Arts Council England, said: "The Let's Create Jubilee Fund is a wonderful example of our ambition to give everyone the opportunity to participate in and experience the arts, culture and creativity - made possible thanks to National Lottery players.

"This June, we'll see communities across England coming together to celebrate a historic milestone for this country. I'm excited to see these projects brought to life in villages, towns and cities across the country as our wonderfully creative communities celebrate the Queen's Platinum Jubilee."

HM The Queen Elizabeth II is the first monarch to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, having overtaken Queen Victoria as the longest reigning monarch in 2015.