Fourteen teenagers and young adults will compete in a search by a Bradford college for the voice of a charity EP next week.

The grand finale of The Sound of Forster’s contest takes place at Forster's Bistro & Deli in Centenary Square on Friday, April 17.

The finalists are mainly students at Bradford College and the University of Bradford and are between 16 and 23.

The oldest and youngest contestants taking part are Dorota Paliwoda, originally from Poland, but who now lives in Bradford city centre and Matthew Brown, of Keighley.

They have won through to the final by taking part in heats held in February and March.

Sara Belhay, 22, marketing and communications officer at Forster’s Bistro & Deli said the heats had uncovered some extraordinary talent, but the way the contestants supported each other was also incredible.

She said: “It’s been amazing so far, not only because of their singing talents, but of the way they supported and looked out for one another during the heats.”

The contestants performed songs from a wide range of genres including 1950s rock & roll to modern pop in front of an audience in the heats but they will face a panel of judges for the grand finale, including Sheila Philpott, chief executive officer of Forster Community College, and Hannah Trigwell, star of Waiting for Wednesday, who is also a songwriter.

To be crowned winner the contestants will have to sing in three rounds to reach a head-to-head final, with each round whittling down the number of contestants roughly by half.

The judges will decide who makes the cut in each round, but will take the audience’s decisions from the earlier heats into account.

The winner will record The Sound of Forster’s charity single and be paid to perform at Forster’s Bistro & Deli for six live shows and the single will be released after the competition on iTunes with all proceeds going to Forster Community College.

Miss Belhay said: “It’ll be a great event for anyone who loves live music and wants to see talented young people show off their talents.”

The finale at Forster's Bistro & Deli starts at 7pm on April 17 and the winner will be announced at 10pm.