Prince Henry's Grammar School musicians a hit at Wharfedale Festival

Two groups from the Otley school – brass ensemble No Strings Attached and the Senior Choir – both won their sections.

No Strings Attached, run by the school’s brass tutor Gordon Eddison, topped the class for Open Age Brass Ensemble by playing pieces as diverse as Pastime with Good Company to Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The choir, meanwhile, sang Rule the World by Take That and Ave Verum Corpus, by Mozart, to triumph in the Under 19 Years School and Youth Choirs class.

Lucy Greenwood, the school’s faculty leader in performing arts, who runs the choir with fellow music teacher Andrew Matthews, said: “It is great for our students to enjoy the opportunity of performing competitively and it’s a real boost to their confidence to win their classes.

“Playing in an ensemble is one of the best ways to improve your performing and we encourage all our students to join a group. It’s also fun!

“Music is very important at Prince Henry’s. Many of our students continue to be involved in music for the rest of their lives, whether academically or as a hobby.

“We recently received an email from an ex-student whose love of singing had begun here and stayed with him throughout his life, including recording with some of the world’s top conductors.”

No Strings Attached is comprised of Year 7 pupils Tim Buttanshaw, Joe Bradford, Tara Appleyard, with Marion Ridgway, Andrew Straiton (Year 13), and Fergus Straiton (Year 11).

The choir consists of Year 10 students Daniel Hughes, Anna Middleton, Leah Armitage, Ellen Benn, Lily Walsh, Nic Cain, Tim Buttanshaw, Joe Bradford, Lily Zorilla Solk, Annabel Glover and Imogen Leather, along with Year 9 students Lily Riley, Charlotte Rich and Eleri Haines, and Owain Hughes (Year 12) and Sarah Clayton (Year 13). Other pupils from Prince Henry’s enjoyed success when they played with Otley Brass Band’s feeder groups at the festival last week, with both Wharfe Brass and Stepping Stones winning their classes, too.