A YOUNG composer has been praised in a national award for capturing human emotions after the death of a talented musician in the First World War.

Katie Millican, a 15-year-old student at Harrogate Grammar School, in North Yorkshire, wrote a string trio piece called Memories of War.

Her efforts won second place in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's national music competition, in which youngsters were challenged to compose an anthem for remembrance. She was given £250 to be spent in the school's music department.

Pupils at Harrogate Grammar excelled in the event, with Hannah King and Daniel Whiteley, both 15, together composing an atmospheric piece called Marching Through the Poppy Fields.

They were highly commended by the judges.

On Wednesday, at an afternoon assembly at the school, in Arthur's Avenue, Caroline Coxon, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's education consultant, will present prizes to the three school winners.

At the ceremony, Katie's piece will be played.

The event was supported by the Royal British Legion.

The idea for the anthem was to remember Hugh Gordon Langton, a brilliant violinist who was killed in the First World War. He is commemorated by the commission in the British cemetery in Poelcapelle, Belgium.

His family used musical notes instead of words as an inscription on his headstone to express their feelings.

The contest asked young people to compose a piece of music using the inscription as their inspiration, including it in their works or using it as a theme.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission marks and maintains graves of Commonwealth soldiers who died during the two world wars.