BRITAIN’S Got Talent finalist Andrew Johnston found that pupils at a Rastrick school also have lots of talent.

The 14-year-old beat the bullies and rose to stardom thanks to Simon Cowell and his appearance on Britain’s Got Talent.

Andrew finished third in the show which dancer George Sampson won.

But the opera singer was quickly signed up in a record deal and has just released his first album One Voice.

He is now using his experience to encourage more young boys to sing and visited year seven and eight pupils at Rastrick High School as part of the Sing Up campaign.

He watched the pupils sing before answering questions.

Andrew said: “There’s not enough singing in schools and young boys may feel it’s something they can’t do because they’ll be bullied.

“I hope that I can encourage some to consider singing because it really is a great thing to do.

“I just went for it when I auditioned for BGT, I didn’t really care what they (the bullies) said anymore because it was something I enjoyed and something I was good at.”

Andrew was just 13 when he sang Pie Jesu in front of Simon Cowell, Amanda Holden and Piers Morgan on the hit ITV1 programme.

He began singing aged six after a music teacher discovered his talent and encouraged him to join the Carlisle Cathedral Choir.

There were times when he wanted to quit because of peer pressure and bullying, but his life changed for the better when he auditioned for BGT. The teenager now hopes to give something back to the millions of people who voted for him.

Over the past year, Andrew has performed for Andrew Lloyd Webber and met previous BGT winner Paul Potts. But he has kept his feet firmly on the ground.

“I’m just a kid doing something that’s great fun, but I’m still down to earth and haven’t really changed.”

Music teacher Alison Pryce-Jones welcomed Andrew to the Field Top Road school. She said: “We really do encourage boys to sing.

“From rock to opera, there are far more jobs for male singers than female yet at school age it is not something they feel able to do.

“So if they can see someone like Andrew and the success he has then it can only be an inspiration for them to consider singing.

“Many often have the talent but don’t feel able to say that they enjoy singing.

“I’ve been here for 10 years now and I can name every boy who has sung in school.

“They are all very special because they’ve had to stand up and say they enjoy something different from anybody else.”

To see a video of Andrew at Rastrick High School visit www.examiner.co.uk