It was a fantastic showbiz finale with students (and staff) strutting their stuff in the Loreto X Factor. Acts with enough talent to get Simon Cowell reaching for his cheque book sparkled on stage, while Loreto Drama teacher Mr. Rees kept the audience laughing as compere. A full-on blast of the blues from talented musicians, The Band, kicked off the contest, followed by beautiful singing from solo performers Chelesea and Asanda. There was breath-taking choreography from Tony's Dance Group and an impressively polished performance from rapper Derrick who went on despite his rap partner Byron being in hospital.

After much discussion the judges awarded first prize to The Band with runners up Tony's Dance Group. Lawrence Barnes, front man for The Band, said it had been great taking part.

"It's fantastic to win but for us the most important thing was the audience enjoyed our music. We just have a good time jamming but maybe we now need to think up a proper name!"

Lead Judge and Loreto dance teacher Miss Linford said it was really tough deciding who to put through from the audition stage and even tougher on who to put through to the final.

"All of the contestants were brilliant,"" she said, "The Band won because they were an all round performance: they are a talented bunch, who played and performed well. Performance in the contest was the key - if the contestants enjoyed it, the audience enjoyed it."

"The standard was very high throughout the auditions right up to the final, an enjoyable and challenging experience!"