Lunchtimes have got a whole lot louder at The Helena Romanes School.

But, on this occasion, students are being encouraged to make noise as they perform in a series of lunchtime music concerts.

Intimate gigs are being held in the music rooms at the school, in Parsonage Downs, Great Dunmow, to give students an opportunity to perform to an audience of their peers and teachers.

Music teacher Pani Charalambous hopes to develop the sessions and hold them in the school hall in future where he will invite local primary school children to attend each term.

He said: “We have about 20 students performing in our concerts at the moment, showcasing their singing, bands they have formed and musical instruments they play.

“We hope the concerts will not only give our musicians and singers more confidence, but also encourage other students around the school – and in our primaries – to take up music.”

A larger concert will be held in the school hall on Thursday, April 3, with parents invited to buy tickets to attend the 7pm performance.