MOST of them had never performed in public before.

Many of them had only been playing their instruments for a few weeks.

But on Friday, this ragtag mob of silver band starters joined an all-day workshop which ended with them performing their first ever concert – and it blew the audience away.

The session was held by Wantage Silver Band at its band hall in Tugwell Field.

For the past month, the band has been going into schools and running trial sessions to see if children might be interested in joining up full-time.

On Friday, the group invited the young proteges, aged six to 13, to come and see how it felt to perform a real concert in front of friends and family.

Deputy band master Sam Wyne, who led the session, said: "It was so successful.

"We couldn't believe how much progress they made in one day.

"There were lots of smiles from parents and lots of interest in joining the band."

The 33 youngsters, most of them from Stockham primary school in Wantage and Our Lady's, Abingdon, arrived at 10am.

The challenge was to learn, rehearse and perform seven songs, including silver band favourites Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious.

The children played cornets, tenor horns, baritones, euphoniums, tubas and trombones.

For many, it was the first time they had played ensemble, but the end product was an undisputed success.

Karen England, whose seven-year-old daughter Lucy-Jane conquered the cornet, posted on Facebook afterwards: "Wow! Well done kids, you were amazing.

"Thank you so much to Sam and Sara and everyone at Wantage Silver Band, Lucy-Jane had such a great time.

"I was worried we'd need earplugs for the performance but that couldn't have been further from the truth."

Ten-year-old Lily Yates, who goes to Stockham School, played the baritone and said: "I had the best day ever - I didn't realise it was going to be so much fun."

Our Lady's Abingdon pupil Ronit Chakraborty, nine, played the cornet and added: "I was very good, I really enjoyed it.

"It was a little bit challenging but I like challenging."

Wantage Silver Band, which started as a junior band in 1972 with a few second-hand instruments, is now one of the biggest competing silver bands in the country.

Its 150-odd players are divided into the A Band, B Band, Concert Brass, Youth Band and Saturday Bands.

The band rehearses at its Tugwell Field hall in the east of Wantage which it also raised the £260,000 over a decade to build.

To find out more go to wantageband.org