Five young punks from Weydon School have won the right to perform at Guilfest ‘24 after rocking out a Battle of the Bands competition at Prior’s Field school in Godalming.

‘Low Bridge’ is made up of five young musicians from Weydon; Eddie Lawrence on lead vocals and guitar, Josh Gilliam also on vocals and guitar, Charlie Ayton on bass, Jacob Cornwell on the keyboard and Ollie Monk on drums.

They lined up against bands from 12 other schools to take part in the third annual Prior’s Field Battle of the Bands and qualified to perform at Guilfest after judges ranked them in the top two.

Guilfest takes place over the weekend of June 29 and 30 at Stoke Park in Guildford and ‘Low Bridge’ will be taking to the stage on Saturday. For tickets and information on the event see www.guilfest.co.uk

Following their recent success, Low Bridge is also looking to perform in the local area – so look out for this group of talented young musicians.

Other local schools to compete at Prior’s Field this year included Frensham Heights, Rodborough in Milford, and Highfield and Brookham School in Liphook.

Granite, a six-piece band from Highfield and Brookham School in Liphook, proved they’re made of stern stuff after belying their age in a school music competition
Granite, a six-piece band from Highfield and Brookham School in Liphook, proved they’re made of stern stuff after belying their age in a school music competition (Simon Drake Photography) (Simon Drake Photography)

Granite, a six-piece band from Highfield and Brookham, didn’t make the top two – but they did hugely impress the judges as the youngest band on show.

And the boys didn’t come away empty handed as talented drummer Henry Fisher was named best individual performer on the day – something made all the more remarkable by the fact that Henry was on crutches and had to drum with his non-dominant leg.

While many schools included sixth-formers in their line ups, the prep school quintet – made up of guitarist Dougie Hogg, bassist Albie Black, vocalists Gabe Church and Rory Lett, Theo Dunfield-Prayero on keyboards and drummer Henry – proved age is no barrier as they performed Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer and Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses to an audience including judges from Guilfest and The Boiler Room.

Impressed by the mature performance of the Highfield and Brookham musicians, one judge said: “You’ve got so much talent for how young you are and you were perfectly in tune the whole time. I’m a bit blown away, I can’t find the words.”

The boys, coached by guitar specialist Mark Rood, are well known around the school having previously performed on Rock Day and at HighFest, which showcases the school’s musical talent.