Winchester Amateur Operatic Society is taking the magic of music to children in South Africa.

The members are paying the annual salary of the choirmaster at Barnato Park School, Johannesburg.

"The school has a 50-strong choir which is competing at regional level and hopes to take part in national competitions," said WAOS member, Pamela Jones.

"They sing in three languages, Tsonga, Afrikaans and English."

The school opened in 1991 as the first co-educational and non-racial school in South Africa. It was founded by Neil McGurk, head teacher of the neighbouring Sacred Heart School. He wanted his anti-apartheid principles extended to the state sector and had the full support of Nelson Mandela.

Primary education in South Africa is free but parents must pay for secondary education. The fees at Barnato Park are £200 a year, which is low by British standards but still outside the reach of many black South Africans.

The school's reputation is so good that some children travel four of five hours each day to attend.

Choirmaster, Obaking Musdise, who is a past pupil of Barnato Park, is studying at Johannesburg University. He is paid £400 a year.

"We have made the commitment to pay his salary for one year initially but we hope the committee will continue the support in future years," said Pamela.

WAOS is also funding a boarding house for those who need to stay overnight or a safe place to live while they complete their education.

Max Bullough, a bass singer with WAOS is the head teacher of the Hayling School, Hayling Island, and several of the students support individual pupils by paying their fees.

Max first visited Johannesburg in 1996 to do research for an MBA and has returned twice since. The two schools have built up a very close relationship and have had exchanges of pupils and staff.

"We feel people in Winchester are privileged to have access to so much good music and music-making and we want to share our good fortune with others who are much less privileged," said Pamela.