A hand-picked jury of Gareth Gates's former schoolmates today delivered their verdict on the star's Comic Relief single.

Students at Dixon's City Technology College in Bradford got a sneak preview of the Red Nose fundraiser, which is hotly tipped to top the charts when it is released next month.

And - whether fans of the East Bowling teenager or not - they all backed his version of the seventies classic Spirit in the Sky to go straight to the top.

Gareth has teamed up with spoof TV family The Kumars for the rerelease of Norman Greenbaum's 1970 hit as the annual Comic Relief song.

The song and video are a hybrid of Bollywood meets Grease, and see Gareth waking up to a really bad hair day.

His despair deepens when his "guardian angel", hairdresser Sanjeev Kumar, descends from heaven to help, before the pair climb the stairs to hairdresser's heaven and into a glittering Bollywood musical finale.

The Telegraph & Argus played the new single to third year students at Gareth's old school to see if they would be backing their old schoolmate's bid for the top.

Bilal Pandor, 13, of Great Horton, said he was "definitely" going to buy a copy of the new single. It was one of Gareth's best songs so far. "It is really catchy and I can see myself dancing to it."

Ben Thorpe, 13, of Eccleshill, admitted he was not a big fan of Gareth and preferred R'n'B music.

But he said: "It's a bit unusual, quite catchy and I like the lyrics. I definitely think it will sell lots and I think the Kumars are really funny.

"I think it will appeal to all sorts of people, especially the younger ones because it's Gareth. And it's for a good cause so I'm sure lots of people will buy it."

And Paul Prystawsky, 13, of Heaton, was impressed.

"I really like it," he said. "It's really catchy and very comical. I'm not usually a Gareth fan, but if it was on the radio I definitely wouldn't switch it off."

Paul also said he liked the Kumars in the video - especially the part where granny Sushila, played by Meera Syal, pinches Gareth on his ears.

Fourteen-year-old Sheereen Bhaiyat, of Great Horton, added: "It's definitely the kind of music that I would dance to, but I'm not sure about the words. The song's a bit slow, but I'd listen to it and I'm sure it will do well in the charts."

And Jenna Holt, 13, who lives in Halifax, said: "I'm not an obsessive Gareth fan like some people, but I do like him.

"The tune was really catchy and it would be good for parties. It's also quite amusing. It will appeal to the young ones who like Gareth and older people who can remember the original as well."

The only dissenting voice came from 14-year-old Rachel Kiely, who lives just down the road from Gareth's family in East Bowling. She said the song was "a bit corny" and she was disappointed the Kumars had decided to team up with him - even though she expected it to top the charts.

"I haven't liked any of his songs and I never really listen to them," she said. "Although there's a big fan base for him here in school, not everybody is addicted."

All the royalties from single sales of Spirit in the Sky, released on March 3, will be donated to Comic Relief - and Gareth said he was delighted to help the cause.

"Filming the video was so much fun."