After approximately three years Perrin, Brown and Varcoe left and were replaced, respectively, by Shelagh Molyneux (soprano), Nigel Dixon and Michael Leighton Jones.
Whilst The Scholars no longer exists as such, ex-members remain active in other related musical fields, e.g. solo and ensemble singing, conducting, teaching and composing.
At the outset, being a male voice ensemble, The Scholars' ideals remained close to those cultivated by David Willcocks at King's College, Cambridge: accurate tuning, rhythmic precision, clarity of diction and neat coordination of consonants.
During the 1980s Italian, French, German and Spanish music of the Renaissance became standard repertoire and English glees of the late 18th and early 19th centuries were revived, including works by Arnold, Webbe and Callcott.
Contemporary music often formed part of The Scholars' programmes and included specially composed works by Philip Radcliffe (Cor Cordium), Malcolm Williamson (Death of Cuchulan), William Wordsworth (Adonais), John Rutter (It was a Lover and his Lass), John Joubert (Five Carols), William Mathias (Ceremony After A Fire Raid), Robert Walker (The Sun on the Celandines), Christopher Brown (Herrick Songs and From the Doorways of the Dawn) and Howard Blake (The New National Songbook and 'Lullaby - A Christmas Narrative' which includes the original version of Walking in the Air).
Non-specialist programmes were generally structured to include six groups of songs (three in each half of the concert), each themed by musical genre or subject matter, aiming for contrast of pace, humour/seriousness and key.