Young singer takes home Girlguiding talent title after surprise win

Monday, 19 January 2026 15:46

By Catherine Smyth

Girlguiding judges crown 14-year-old singer winner of North West talent competition

A CHRISTMAS present of singing lessons helped Alice Kowal win the Guide section of the Girlguiding North West England talent competition.

Alice, 14, a student at Whitworth Community High School attends 1st Whitworth Guides and Rangers.

She said: “I have been a Guide for eight years, first a Rainbow then a Brownie, Guide and now I have just move into the Rangers section.

“We had to make a video of me singing and my teacher at Samba Dance and Fitness Leah Fisher recorded me.”

Alice has been attending Samba since she was three starting with dancing classes, then she began acting and during Covid she was singing a lot at home, so her grandparents paid for singing lessons as a Christmas present. She has continued ever since.

For the talent competition, she sang ‘God Bless the Broken Road’ by Rascal Flatts and competed against other Guides from across the North West.

When she had not heard anything after a couple of months, she assumed she had been unsuccessful, but then she found out she had won out of all the Guides that had entered from the North West area.

The Region Commissioners loved Alice’s cover of the song and said they admired her having the dedication and confidence to sing a solo

Alice said: “I was very happy, it was such a surprise and my teacher was delighted.

“I am keen to do something to do with music, possibly be a sound engineer making music for others who are singing or helping people to write songs and music.”