A GIFTED teenager has won a coveted place at one of the world’s top music colleges.

Ali Webb, from Stocktonon-Teme, near Tenbury, has been awarded a scholarship to Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.

The 18-year-old, who plays the piano, trumpet and drums, won the top music scholarship to Shrewsbury School five years ago and is now a sixth form student there studying for A-levels in music, theatre studies and French. He also attended Pensax Primary School and Abberley Hall School before movingtoShrewsburySchool.

Mr Webb said: “I could not be more delighted to receive the Berklee scholarship – 1,000 people auditioned for just 94 places.

“Although it is an intense four-year course I can’t wait to immerse myself in the music and exciting prospects the college has to offer.”

The largest independent college of contemporary music in the world, Berklee is known primarily as a school for jazz, rock, and popular music and to date 99 of its alumni have received 221 Grammy Awards.

Mr Webb attended a fiveweek summer school at Berklee last year when he auditioned for the scholarship and is now collaborating with two fellow students from the course on songwriting projects.

He leads various groups and bands and performs at private events, with his ambition being to become a professional performer and composer. One of Mr Webb’s singles has already been played on the BBC radio 2 Aled Jones programme and more of his work can be heard at www.soundcloud.com/aliwebb.