Aspiring songwriters are being given their chance to showcase their talents at the Royal Albert Hall.

Hertfordshire Music Service is offering young people an opportunity to perform their own part at the London venue as part of the Hertfordshire Schools’ Gala on March 8, 2020.

Submissions can be made by students uploading their original songs to the Hertfordshire Schools’ Gala website. The deadline is August 31.

In support the music service will be running full day songwriting workshops in music centres throughout the county during the holidays.

These will take place at Watford School of Music, Rickmansworth Road, Watford, on Monday 29 July; Mid Herts Centre for Music and Arts, Birchwood Avenue, Hatfield, on Thursday August 8 and Friday 9 August.

The cost is £25 or £50 for a two-day workshop.

Cabinet member for education, libraries and localism, Cllr Terry Douris said: “Hertfordshire is full of talented, young musicians and this is a fantastic chance for them to show off that talent before a huge audience.

“The songwriter competition has been running since 2003 and during that time we’ve received some fantastic entries and seen some fantastic performances. I look forward to hearing the songs submitted this year.”

Visit songwriteronline.co.uk/gala for information.