Some of Oxfordshire's most talented young musicians will soon have the chance to perform at one of the world's finest music venues.

They are due to play at London's Royal Albert Hall to an audience of 5,000 people as part of the Music for Youth schools prom, which takes place from Monday, November 10, to Wednesday, November 12.

The Music for Youth festival has seen more than 40,000 young performers nationwide enjoy music-making over the past few months, with a series of regional festivals leading to a six-day national celebration at Birmingham's Symphony Hall in July. A total of 300 groups performed there but only 30 - including two from Oxfordshire - have made it through to the final stage in London.

The county's Central Music School Symphonia, as well as a string quartet, will be hoping to hit all the right notes.

Percussionist Jonathan Stock, 18, is one of more than 100 members of the symphonia.

He said: "It's an exciting prospect.

"The whole Music for Youth festival is about giving youngsters the opportunity to perform and, for me, it's a great reward for the last 10 years of hard work and practice. For many of us, this will be the highlight of our music- making."

The county's effort is spearheaded by the Oxfordshire County Music Service, which is based at Bayards Hill Primary School, in Waynflete Road, Barton, Oxford.

Mr Stock said: "As the festival is such a huge, national event, it gives us a chance to compare ourselves to others across the country - and our county music service is doing a fantastic job.

"The schools prom is always a sell-out. It's the beacon of youth music in the UK and really proves youth music is alive."

He added: "It just shows there are plenty of young people out there putting in the hours and working hard towards achieving something to be proud of.

"Our orchestra has been rehearsing for the past year and everyone knows the pieces very well."