MUSICIANS from Thomas Adams School in Wem will take part in the 42nd Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland which starts on Friday.

The members of Adjazz will share the bill with stars including Katie Melua, Lenny Kravitz and Sheryl Crow.

Adjazz is the only school band to be invited to perform at the festival, one of the world’s biggest music events.

The school’s head of music Malcolm Brown said: “We were invited on the basis of recordings we did years ago in Barcelona which were picked up by organisers of the Montreux Festival.

“It is a great honour - school bands from the UK don’t get invited to this event and we are the only UK school band to be going.”

The party of 53 students and six staff members left for Switzerland yesterday.

They will perform 90 minute sets comprising soul, swing, jazz and funk, at five concerts over seven days.

Adjazz was formed 22 years ago and has performed all over Europe and America.