SECONDARY school pupils are at the centre of efforts to revive a town's musical tradition with the aid of a National Lottery grant.

It is hoped the £8,500 cash injection, which has been awarded by the National Foundation for Youth Music, will help to set up a community youth band in Shildon.

The band will be made up of pupils from Sunnydale School and partner primary schools.

It will give many of the youngsters the experience of playing in a wind band for the first time.

The total cost of the project, which will be based at Sunnydale School and is aimed at encouraging youngsters in Shildon to play more music, is about £15,500.

The local community, including businesses, organisations and individuals, has raised £1,000 towards the cost of buying brass and woodwind instruments, while the school has given £3,000 and provided the venue.

Head of music at Sunnydale School, Tony Taylor, said: "We will be seeking to include youngsters from the primary schools early in the new year.

"We hope that by the end of this academic year we will be in a position where we will have formed a band, bringing together the beginners and established players at Sunnydale. From there, we will build for the future.''

The first recruits to the band, many of whom are taking up an instrument for the first time, have recently started twice-weekly rehearsal and tuition sessions.

Eventually, it is hoped that up to 35 young people, aged from ten to 16, will make up the ensemble.

The band will serve as a stepping stone for pupils to join district and regional bands. It will also eventually give the youngsters a chance to take part in joint concerts with other bands.

A programme of visits by players from established wind bands is proposed to provide masterclasses.

Brass band music once thrived in Shildon, but suffered with the demise of the coal mining industry and railway workshops. The National Foundation for Youth Music was set up in 1999 with £30m of National Lottery funding through the Arts Council of England.

It funds programmes which support music-making after school hours in communities, youth clubs and groups where young people otherwise may not have the opportunity