Students in Years 7 and 8 have been treated to a live music performance and Q & A session with Sunderland-born singer songwriter, Tom A Smith as part of our anti-bullying and mental health awareness programme.

21-year-old Tom, who was recently signed to UK record label, Fiction, has been performing live since the age of eight years old, performing at open mic nights with North East legend Sam Fender. He has recently had two sold shows at The Fire Station in Sunderland and has played most major UK festivals, including Glastonbury, Leeds and BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend. He is making waves in the UK’s music industry and has been hand-picked to support artists such as Catfish & The Bottlemen and Courteeners, plus he was personally invited to open for Sir Elton John at Hyde Park. Recently, it was announced that Tom will star as Dave Stewart from the ‘Eurythmics’ in ‘Ebony McQueen’, an upcoming musical semi-autobiographical film based on Stewart’s life in the 1960s and 1970s.

Tom has had his own experiences with bullying and mental health so he was excited to share his stories and advice to the younger generation.