Liberton High go wild for L Factor
Forget Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole...and forget the X Factor.
Kirsty has the L Factor!
This is The L Factor and new star Kirsty Evans singing her way to first place before an expert panel of Sandi Thom, the successful Scottish singer-songwriter, John Loughton, winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2008, Grant Stott, Radio Forth DJ and local musician, Stewart Wilson.
Kirsty was taking part in the annual talent contest held at Liberton High School, and it was X-tra special as this year is the school’s 50th anniversary.
It’s October 2008, the lights are bright, the dry ice fills the stage, the crowd is going wild and the atmosphere is electric.
This may sound like a sell-out capacity gig at Murrayfield – but you would be wrong!
It is the L Factor, Liberton High School’s annual talent show. This year is the school’s 50th anniversary and the school pulled out all the stops to put on a show to remember.
The L Factor is in the style of the popular TV talent show ‘The X Factor’ and this year Liberton High enlisted the help of its very own panel of celebrity judges.
Forget Simon Cowell, Louis Walsh, Dannii Minogue and Cheryl Cole.
Liberton had the cream of Scottish celebrities – Sandi Thom, the successful Scottish singer-songwriter, John Loughton, winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2008, Grant Stott, Radio Forth DJ and local musician, Stewart Wilson.
There were 13 acts from rock and pop to classical and dance. The show opened with a song from last year’s winner Jack Robertson.
One by one the acts performed, showcasing the fantastic talent that Liberton High School has to offer.
The judges finally retired to make their decision and the audience was entertained by pupils from S6 performing ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’and once again by Jack Robertson.
The judges returned to deliver their verdict and award the prizes, in reverse order, of course.
Third place went to Uni Kim (S5) with a great performance of ‘The Heart Never Lies’ by McFly.
Ian McBain (S5) and Cecily Kingston (S5) claimed second place and a fantastic prize donated by Red Dog Music.
Their rendition of ‘The Prayer’ by Céline Dion and Andrea Bocelli really raised the bar for all other performers.
The top prize and a day recording at the Sound Café Studio was won by Kirsty Evans (S5). Kirsty sang a fantastic version of Snow Patrol’s ‘Chasing Cars’ which really won the crowd and the judges over.
Sandi Thom has now invited Kirsty to join her for a duet on stage at the Liquid Rooms in January during her forthcoming Scottish tour.
The L-Factor competition is just part of the Liberton High School's 50th anniversary celebrations.
To mark the occasion the school is hosting a series of events throughout the year.
These include an open day for pupils and former pupils which took place in August and a Burns' Supper taking place in February.
The school has also been awarded £23,200 from the Heritage Lottery Young Roots Fund for an innovative project where pupils will work with local and national cultural partners and a series of artists in residence to research the changes in their community over the past 50 years.