VANISHA Gangiyani is officially considered top brass so far as Smithills School Senior Brass Band is concerned.

The 16-year-old is the new principal cornet for the world, national and BBC champion band, which includes pupils from Bolton Sixth Form College.

Vanisha has been a pupil at Smithills School since the age of 11, a member of the Senior Brass Band for four years and has been taught to play the cornet privately at home by the school's head of music, Christopher Wormald.

As with her award-winning predecessors Lynsey Hayes (1998-2000) and Selina Govan (2000-2002), Vanisha will lead the band for two years which will include the forthcoming major three week tour to New Zealand in April when Chris, also the band's director of music, will take the 55 members from Manchester to Auckland with Singapore Airlines.

Because of events in New York 13 months ago New Zealand will be the band's first major foreign tour since the back to back visits to Japan (1999) and West Virginia, USA (2000).

A hectic programme of concerts has been organised in the run up to Christmas, and the band continues to be sponsored by Wallace Printers, Keoghs Solicitors, Chamberlain Doors, Fujitsu Services, Georgia-Pacific and Jacksons Van Hire.