TALENTED young people displayed their skills at a Pop Idol contest that could set them on the road to stardom.

Students from Bishop Auckland College, St John's RC School and Bishop Barrington Schools, in Bishop Auckland, took to the stage in the contest.

The 15 singers performed favourite songs at Bishop Auckland College in the hope of winning over the audience, who decided which of them would go through to the semi-finals of the competition, run by North-East based TalentSTAR.

Sarah Jane Watson, 17, stole the show with her version of Everywhere.

Runner-up Louise Hopper, 22, sang Gloria Estefan's Here We Are.

The panel, made up of judges from TalentSTAR, also chose to take Sean Dixon, 18, who performed English Man In New York, and Amanda Clixpy, 12, who sang Strawberry Wine and Dirty, and Amy Maxwell, 12, who danced, through to the next stage, which will be held in Stanley.

The overall winner will get a chance to have a professional recording session, photoshoot and website developed.

Catherine Shaw, student support worker at the college, who helped organise the event, said: "The evening was a great success and attracted an awful lot of talent. All of the students worked very hard on putting this together and its success is a credit to them."