Schoolgirl Laura Prescott, 15, has beaten off competition from over 10,000 singers and bands across the country to perform at the live stages of Live and Unsigned - the biggest music talent search after X-Factor.

Laura will be competing live on Saturday (March 1) against 15 other hopefuls in Sheffield for a place in the regional final of the competition.

The aim of the contest is to find potential recording artists, with the national final to be held in London.

The national winners will be crowned the UK’s best Live and Unsigned acts in front of a capacity crowd including many professionals from within the music industry.

The overall winner gets a recording and management contract, and the under 18’s winner has the option to record a track written by Lemar and Mark Hill (Craig David’s producer), as well as recording an album.

Laura, who attends St Mary’s College in Hull, is a former pupil of St John of Beverley Primary School. Her mum, Doreen Prescott, said Laura has always enjoyed singing since an early age and last year won the Middlesborough Catholic Diocese talent competition, Pope Idol.

As well as singing, Laura also plays the drums, clarinet and piano and will be performing one of her own compositions in the Live and Unsigned contest.

Mrs Prescott, who is a music teacher at South Hunsley School, said Laura is used to performing and has already impressed judges in the earlier rounds.

“The judges did say she was the best they had heard on the day that she auditioned. In the semi final she will be judged by the audience and by the judges. Two people will go through, one the choice of the judges and one the choice of the audience,” she said.

Chris Grayston, events director of Live and Unsigned, said: “This cannot be compared to any other talent search as the acts’ talent is the show. We are interested in discovering and exposing talent at its best, live. It is as simple as we say Get live, get signed.”