A SCHOOL band from Cleobury Mortimer has reached the final of a television talent search less than three months after it formed for a supposedly one-off school concert in aid of the Asian tsunami appeal.

After becoming an overnight hit within Lacon Childe School, Blotto's four members decided to stay together and were offered their first paid gig at an 18th birthday party.

That was also a success and the GCSE student musicians, Joe Wills, Iain McGoldrick, Kit Bodenham and Tom Tracy, were spurred into writing their own material by the launch of BBC Midlands Today programme's School of Rock contest.

After an intensive weekend of brainstorming, they decided to submit a song written by singer and guitarist, Joe, at an earlier date and it proved the right decision when the band became one of six to reach the final stage of the prestigious contest.

The group is now preparing to record the track, named Blotto, at the Mailbox in Birmingham on Saturday and an extract will be shown on Midlands Today on Monday.

The winner - who should be announced on Friday - will be picked by a panel of judges and viewers of the programme and it is not just Blotto's members who stand to gain if they win.

That is because the prize includes £600 of musical instruments for their school, as well as a day in a recording studio, a video of one of their songs and the chance of airplay on Radio 1.

To find out more about the band and listen to a sample of their music, visit www.blotto.co.nr