HETTON songwriter Jen Armstrong wowed judges including Coldplay's Chris Martin to win the chance to perform at a star studded event.

Skipton Girls' High School student Jen entered the "Make It Break It" competition sponsored by Paul McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, and beat hundreds of other hopefuls to get down to the final 10.

She then performed her song "What else can I do?'" in front of the final judging panel, who placed it in the top three.

She will now get her work heard by major figures in the UK music and recording industry - as well as winning a state-of-the- art Yamaha digital recording studio unit.

Next month Jen will rehearse and perform with a top session band, including musicians who have worked with the likes of Moby and Erasure. Then, in front of high profile guests from the music industry and media, she will sing her song at the Liverpool Institute.

A member of her own band Red Shift and a player of the piano, guitar, violin, drums and recorder, Jen will also have sessions with producer Steve Levine and Mercury Music Prize founder Jon Webster.

Jen said songwriting, rather than performing, was the most important thing to her: "Sometimes I can write two songs in the same day and then I will go two months without anything. It's not the lyrics that come first, but the music," she said.

She is now hoping the competition will help her gain entry into the Liverpool Institute after she completes her A-levels.

In the meantime her biggest boost came from her idols, Chris Martin, of Coldplay, who said of the entries: "I was really impressed by the high standard, it amazes me that the songs were so good as the people who wrote them are all so young."