A BRADFORD school will battle it out in the northern final of a UK competition after winning a regional heat.

Tong High School finished first in the Be Your Best South Yorkshire Rock Challenge, beating off tough competition from regional schools.

More than 60 students, aged between 11 and 17, wowed the judges with its eight-minute production called Curio, based on the Greek myth, Pandora's Box.

The Westgate Hill Street school will now face 11 other schools at the Northern Open Final in Grimsby on Friday, July 1. Schools from across Northern Ireland, Northern England and Scotland will take to the stage for the final.

Steve Curran, Tong High School head teacher, said: "Our students and staff worked incredibly hard and it definitely paid off with these great achievements.

"We are now looking forward to the Northern Final - fingers crossed that our success will continue."

Tong High School's team also claimed ten extra awards including excellence for drama, choreography, performance skill and costume.

Elsewhere, Appleton Academy finished third at Wednesday night's Northern Open Final, with a performance called Revival, based on Noah's Arc. Appleton won other awards on the night including the Pauline Quirke Academy Award of Excellence for Visual Enhancement.

The competition was held over three successive nights at the Magna Science Adventure Centre in Rotherham.

Run by the Be Your Best Foundation, Rock Challenge was set up to get young people performing live on a professional stage to let them experience an "adrenalin-based high" through performing.

School teams made up of 20 to 100 performers decides on a theme, then create the choreography for their five to eight-minute dance-drama performance, select and record the medley of music for their soundtrack, and design and make their sets and costumes.

Meanwhile, Thornton Grammar School will take to the stage at the Rock Challenge Northern Premier Final. This will take place in Grimsby on Saturday, July 2.

The Leaventhorpe Lane school qualified after finishing first in last year's Northern Premier Final.

They performed an eight-minute production inspired by the 1995 Robin Williams film Jumanji, which was also praised for its soundtrack by the judges.

The performance, which featured 66 dancers and 14 members of stage crew, was also honoured in a range of other categories, including the Award of Excellence for Concept, for Drama, set design and function, video performance and costuming character and visual enhancement and the Be Your Best Foundation Award for Student Leadership.

Allerton Primary School, High Crags Primary School and Bingley Grammar School were last night vying for a place in the J Rock Finals on Thursday, June 30, in Grimsby as they took part in the regional heat in Rotherham. This is a competition organisers have set up for younger pupils.

Hanson Academy, in Swain House, Bradford, also took part in the Be Your Best Rock Challenge heats.

Local schools entering the competition for the first time in 2016 are Parkside School, Shipley College, Bingley Grammar School Hollingwood Primary School and Allerton Primary School and Nursery.