Bedford student reaches finals of prestigious songwriter competition with song about bullying

Bedford Girls’ School pupil Isla Campbell has reached the finals of the Song Academy Young Songwriter competition with her song, Did I.

The talented Year 9 student said: “I started writing songs in around Year 5. A few of my friends and I created a mini choir/band, and we would write our own songs and perform them to our friends.

"It was only at the start of the second lockdown where I started writing proper songs, and using the GarageBand platform to create the music to bind it all together.”

This year’s competition attracted over 1,000 entries from aspiring young songwriters aged eight to 18 across the world. The top three finalists of all categories will be announced next year.

Isla added: “The song Did I was written in lockdown after I wrote a poem about a bullying experience I had in a previous school.

"It was based on the feelings I felt about what had happened, and how it still affected me. Although that was the main base of what the song is about, I like to think it can be interpreted in different ways, according to how the listener feels when they hear the lyrics."

Bedford Girls’ School music teacher, Mrs McKinnell, said: “We are extremely proud of Isla for her fantastic achievement.

"The finalists were described as standing out for their ‘creativity, invention and courage with lyrics’ and for illuminating the judges’ imaginations; this is a really high accolade from the likes of judges such as Tom Odell and Midge Ure.”