A BATTLE of the School Bands is one of the new events to be featured in the Bournemouth Music Competitions Festival for next year.

Finishing touches are being put to the syllabus, which will be complete and ready for distribution in early January.

Organisers are hoping schools from across the area will seize the opportunity to show off their musical talent on the Pavilion Theatre stage in Bournemouth.

The 89th annual festival will take place in May and June next year with a number of new classes as well as new venues.

Dance events will take place at Queen Elizabeth's School in Wimborne for the first time, between May 29 and June 3.

Accordion classes will be held at St Ives village hall in Ringwood on June 10 and classes for choirs and bands will be held at the Pavilion on June 16 and 17.

Richmond Hill St Andrew's church in Bournemouth will once again be the venue for speech, drama, instrumental and vocal classes between June 12 and 23 with the Musician of the Year contest held there on June 24.

A spokesman for the festival said: "Our programme continues to evolve to meet the aspirations of our entrants. We are hoping that our new class, The Battle of the School Bands, will attract many of our schools in the town and surrounding areas to have a go. We have got so much talent in our schools and what better way to show them off than on our Pavilion Theatre stage."

Those on the mailing list will receive the syllabus in early January but anyone else interested should email bmthfestival@gmail.com, telephone Kevin Knight on 01202 556023 or visit bmcf.info. for all the information.

"We would love to see you either as a competitor or a member of the audience so put the dates in your diary now," added the spokesman.