Emre Nalbantoglu is a two-time ‘battle of the bands’ winner at Enfield Grammar School

A multi-instrumentalist student from Enfield is celebrating after being offered a place at a prestigious music school that counts the likes of Adele and Amy Winehouse as alumni.

Emre Nalbantoglu is a singer who can also play guitar, bass, drums and piano, greatly impressing his teachers at Enfield Grammar School over the last five years, where he is a two-time ‘battle of the bands’ winner.

After completing his GCSEs, Emre is now looking forward to starting at The Brit School in South London.

Polly Green, Enfield Grammar’s director of music, said: “This is a huge deal for him and for our school as the Brit School has an incredible reputation with people such as Adele, Amy Winehouse, and The Feeling in their alumni. Students have to go through a rigorous audition process to get in and we are so proud that Emre has made the cut!

“Emre has been a shining light in the Enfield Grammar School music department since he arrived in year seven. He has performed on three European tours and at over a dozen concerts within and outside of school.

“He is a fantastic singer and pianist but is also accomplished on the bass, drums and guitar. He is a true talent and will be missed when he leaves this summer having just completed his GCSE exams.”

Emre says he owes a lot to his teachers at Enfield Grammar and although he doesn’t know exactly what his future holds “one thing for sure is that I’ll be doing music”.

He adds: “I’ve been lucky enough to have many great role models throughout my years at EGS such as Joel Waters, (band instructor) Arran Ness, (my previous music teacher) Malcolm Escott and Simon Tate-Lovery. I owe a lot of my love of music to them, as they’ve been the ones to stick with me and my music since 2018.

“My time at EGS has given me experience that will stick with me forever as I’ve been able to perform, write and, as cliché as it is, just freely be myself.

“I will miss music at EGS but I’ll definitely be back for future concerts.”

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