North Berwick High School were victorious at the first East Lothian Battle of the Bands secondary schools’ competition, which took place at Preston Lodge High School.

After more than half an hour of judges’ deliberations, two North Berwick High School bands emerged with awards, with S4 band The Shoegazers winning first place and S1 band Semi-Squared winning the potentials prize.

Thanks to their victory, The Shoegazers have won £200 in music vouchers and a further £200 worth of vouchers for their school. Preston Lodge also saw success at the competition, with The Stonders claiming second place and Varsity also winning a potentials prize.

The competition saw 10 bands, ranging from S1 to S6, from the six county high schools perform. Judges Iain Bruce, Emmanuel Shoniwa, Harley Loudon, Bryden Stillie and Callum Beattie – who are all involved in the music industry – were all greatly impressed and said the standard of performance was very high.

Chris Bishop, principal teacher of expressive arts at Preston Lodge and event co-ordinator, said: “It went really well and the feedback we had from the schools, headteachers and pupils said they all had a great time and really enjoyed themselves.

"We are very keen for it to happen again next year, which would be really positive for us. It’s been a great event that has been really positive for young people. All of the money raised goes back into events like this.”

The Shoegazers are Jason Lovell, Fraser McCarter, Sam Cowan and Luke Smith.