A FORMER student from Bishop Wordsworth’s School is through to the semi-finals of the UK Songwriting Contest.

Jo Guthrie-Harrison, 40, who grew up in Salisbury and is now based in Peckham, works actively on the South London electronic music scene under the name System Heavy.

He said: “The contest is highly competitive with submissions from all over the world so it is a fantastic achievement to get this far.

“I am through to the semifinals in the pop category.

“I entered a song called There Is Light In You Still, which is about hope in relationships.”

The competition is a real chance for new songwriters to break into the music business with the opportunity to work with some of the biggest names in the UK music industry. Jo, who started out doing work experience by helping the artists and repertoire manager at Mute Records while still at university, worked for V2 Records before leaving to pursue own music projects.

Awarded a scholarship to the London School of Sound, training at Pink Floyd’s Britannia Row studios, he has received BBC Radio 1 plays in addition to interest from America for his electronic music productions and collaborations.

The chorus of Jo’s song is:

There is light in you still
I can tell by the look in your eyes
There is hope
What we have is alive
I'm holding your gaze
Lost for words
But to say
There is light in you still
I’d be so sad to see you go.