Catherine Fraser meets the schoolchildren of the Exeter Cathedral Choir, whose term ends on Christmas Day.

"THE playing of the merry organ, Sweet singing in the choir" might be a line from one of our favourite carols, The Holly and the Ivy, but that sweet singing takes an awful lot of hard work and commitment.

As Exeter Cathedral swings into its busiest season of the year, so the boys and girls – and adults – of the choir are getting ready for services such as last weekend's Christingle and Hospiscare Tree of Light service and looking forward to Christmas.

But unlike other Exeter schoolchildren, their Christmas holidays start rather late. "Their term runs right up until Christmas Day at five o'clock, which is when they actually finish," says Laurence Blyth, a member of the adult choir and conductor, who works in the cathedral's music administration department.

"At Christmas they have a really punishing schedule which most adults wouldn't enjoy, especially on Christmas morning. They will be in from about nine, as there are two services in the morning. They then have a lunch together – and sometimes the whole family decamps to the cathedral – then there is another service in the afternoon which they are involved with. Christmas here is very, very busy, although you could say it's just another working week for us."

David Davies, the cathedral's assistant director of music, helps in the general operation of music and runs the day-to-day worship. He admits that being a cathedral chorister requires enormous dedication: "Not just in terms of the children's time, but also parents' time too. And any parents with more than one child have to make sure that all their Christmas arrangements are centred on the one child or children who are in the choir. It is a huge commitment for the whole family."

And this is all on top of normal school as well. The choristers are in the cathedral most days for rehearsals before school, then at the end of the school day there is another rehearsal and then Evensong – and this happens throughout the whole school term. Laurence says so many rehearsals are necessary as the choir does not sing the same piece of music every day. "The kids work at a professional level. They are expected to – and do – perform at an adult level," he says.

Not that they seem to mind. Freddie Sher, 12, who lives in Countess Wear, loves the cathedral life. "I had been a chorister before in Guildford, so I knew it was a lot of work. We do Evensong every Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and some Saturdays too, while on Sundays we sometimes do Eucharistic mattins and Evensong," he says, proudly showing his senior chorister medal which the children get in Year 8. "I don't really do anything outside of school because I just really love singing. I don't get up and sing at family gatherings though, although my sister, Imogen, does."

But although many people only go to church at this time of year and will be entranced by the choir, David says that they always sing to this standard, whether it is a wet October Evensong or the Christmas Eve Grandisson service.

"The big stuff is given the same amount of attention as the little stuff," he says. "Occasionally someone will come up after a service and say that they were really moved by it. It might have been just an ordinary service, but I think that's the power of what we do and the music can speak to people in all sorts of different ways."

Their popularity is such that their Christmas with the Choir concert on December 17 is already sold out. But it is not just about singing in the cathedral: the choir might do five outdoor engagements, a CD recording, broadcast live on the radio and go on tour abroad in addition to the daily services, which, both David and Laurence are eager to stress, are open to anyone.

"At 5.30pm every day there is basically a free concert, if you want to think of it like that," David laughs. "You can come in and sit in a prominent place or in the shadows and you can take away from it what you want."

"It's not about someone knowing when to stand up or sit down," Laurence continues. "The cathedral is a part of Exeter, for the city. We also do carol singing on a couple of days during December where you just turn up and sing as loud as you can with David playing the organ."

David admits that despite the cathedral's focal point within Exeter, they have to work very hard on their ministry of welcome. "The role of religion in general society is not what it was 50 or 100 years ago, but you are dealing here with an ancient building with ancient traditions. Somehow you've got to make that relevant to people for whom church doesn't mean what it used to mean. We've got to reach out to a number of different people in order to survive because, like anything else, we are a business and these bricks and this mortar need looking after. That is one of our biggest challenges at the moment," he says.

But for the boys and girls of the choir, it is just all about singing. Kit Oliver-Stevens is nine and has attended the Cathedral School, he says, since he was tiny. "I love it here and I always wanted to be a chorister. I come in every day from Exmouth and my friends there from outside school think I am a bit mad being here all the time. But I love all my lessons, including sport – football is the best."

And football is an analogy used by David. "I say to the boys that we are much like a football team and the choir is only as good as its least prepared member. But yes, you could say that what we do here is a little bit arcane and there is a lot that is steeped in tradition," he says.

"These kids don't necessarily understand that tradition, but we hope that by the time they leave it has not just been all about singing, but that there has also been quite a lot of spiritual development too. But we hope their singing is a magical experience for visitors."

For more information on Christmas services and times, see www.exeter-cathedral.org.uk/christmas