A PERCUSSIONIST from a Kendal school has won a prestigious prize at one of the country's top music colleges.

Sam Nicholls, aged 14 from Kirkbie Kendal School, has won the Ian McPherson Memorial Prize at the Junior Royal Northern College of Music (JRNCM) in Manchester awarded for outstanding musical talent (aged 12-14).

Sam started at JRNCM last September and has been travelling to Manchester every Saturday for specialist music lessons and groups.

Sam said: "I’ve had a fantastic year. It’s great to play with other like-minded musicians, especially other percussionists."

Locally Sam has played percussion with the Westmorland Youth Orchestra, Westmorland Orchestra and Lancaster’s Haffner Orchestra. Recently he has ventured further afield, being invited to go on tour to Skye with Young Sinfonia and play at The Sage in Gateshead. He is about to take part in the National Schools Symphony Orchestra’s residential course in Malvern.

Sam’s also passionate about jazz music and is one of only 5 drummers nationally to be awarded a place on the National Youth Jazz Collective’s Summer School in Uppingham. Sam plays in a jazz quintet ‘Muskrat Ramble’ which played to an enthusiastic audience at Kendal Jazz Club last month.