Following a year of undefeated contest success which has seen Smithills win titles at the National Youth Brass Band Championships, French Open and National Festival of Music For Youth, failing to win at the Tameside Youth Festival has prevented the Bolton band of making a clean sweep of victories in 2008.

Exceptional year

For from being disappointed, MD Chris Wormald told 4BR: "2008 has been another exceptional year of success for all our bands at Smithills and the Senior Brass Band in particular.

"We have only just returned from a Royal Albert Hall Schools Prom with our Senior Concert Band which also won its only contest in 2008 and with the line-up of bands at Tameside consisting entirely of youth and community bands except for ourselves as the sole school entrant, to finish in the prize money again is particularly pleasing.

Although we have enjoyed many Tameside victories including four in the past five years, we have never before had a senior band with an average age of just 13.8 yearsMD, Chris Wormald

8 weeks old

Chris added: "As every year, our most experienced players left for university in September and so the current senior band is just eight weeks old.

"Although we have enjoyed many Tameside victories including four in the past five years, we have never before had a senior band with an average age of just 13.8 years. We played our absolute best at Tameside and the band had a fantastic weekend."