A young girl is through to the finals of a national competition after hitting all the right notes in the area final.

Abby Murphy, 11, of Norman Hill, Terling, impressed the judges in the pre-teen area finals of the Teen Star competition on May 18 in Hayes, Middlesex.

Abby was up against 25 others from Middlesex, London, Essex and Reading and was chosen by the judges as one of five to go through to the final, with another person chosen by an audience vote.

The student at St Mary’s School for Girls, Colchester, who previously attended FKS School, Felsted, said: “I was fine until about 10 minutes before when they said my name and then I was really nervous.

“When I was performing Brave by Sara Bareilles, you could only see the judges because everything behind them was black which was quite scary.

“I couldn’t believe it when they said that I was through to the final. I just ran back on the stage.”

All six pre-teens will now go on to perform at the final at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on July 19.

Abby said: “The day is also my birthday and I’m really looking forward to it.

“I am quite nervous though because everyone is going to be really good.

“I’m going to sing Let Me Be Your Star as I really like the song.”

Her mother, Jacqueline Murphy, 42, said: “I was so proud of her. Quite a few family members were there watching and my sister started crying when they said she had got through.

“We were wearing matching T-shirts and we are going to do the same for the finals as well.”

National Grand Final will be held on Saturday 19th July at National Exhibition Centre (NEC), Birmingham and will be judged by eight people, including representatives from Sony and Universal and Shout Magazine.

The winner will receive £5,000 towards their musical career development.