The Abbey's archives show that boys' voices were first used here in the 1380s. The first boy choristers were only four in number, and came from the Abbey's almonry school. They were trained by the professional choir master who was employed by the monastery to direct the music for the daily services in the Lady Chapel, which had long been more complicated and elaborate than the simpler plainchant sung by all the monks in the Abbey church itself. The music was obviously a success and the choir was enlarged to include more boys and more professional men singers.

By the time of the Reformation in the sixteenth century the boys' and men's choir of the Lady Chapel was very well-established and renowned for its quality. King Henry VIII, who had assumed the title of 'Supreme Head of the Church of England' tranferred the choir from the Lady Chapel to the Quire of the Abbey Church, where it remained. Under Queen Elizabeth I's founding charter of 1560 the choral foundation of the new collegiate church was to include ten (boy) choristers under the care of a suitably qualified Master of the Choristers. The boys were educated at Westminster School, alongside the forty Queen's Scholars.

The first 'Chorister School' was opened in 1848 in a room off the South Cloister and in 1891 a Choir House was built in Little Smith Street which was used until the opening of the present building in Dean's Yard in 1915.

World War II had a disruptive effect and in the autumn of 1939 the boys were evacuated to Christ's Hospital in Horsham, Sussex, but by Christmas 1940 the school had to be disbanded.

In 1947 the Choir was re-assembled under the Master of the Choristers, Sir William McKie. This was the Choir that sang at the dedication of the Battle of Britain window in July 1947 and at the wedding of Princess Elizabeth in November of the same year.

Since then, the Choir has been heavily involved, performing at most Services in the Abbey. These included the Coronation in 1953 of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Royal Weddings and other special events of national and international importance.

Today the choir is one of the glories of the Abbey. But to produce the special quality in boys' voices demands intensive training in a specialised choir school. Westminster Abbey Choir School is now the only school in Britain attended entirely by choirboys.

The Dean and Chapter consider that the retention of this very small school of 38 boys is the best way by which the Abbey's high reputation for choral singing can be maintained. The Grade II listed school building in Dean's Yard has recently undergone extensive renovation at a cost of £1 million.

The Dean and Chapter each year, already contribute a subsidy (currently £10,000) per chorister. This subsidy enables the fees to be kept within the means of most parents: in some cases, additional bursaries have to be found from Abbey income for boys whose parents do not have that means. In this way, the wish of the Dean and Chapter is fulfilled, that any musically gifted boy who is prepared to work hard should be able to join the School.