Two schoolboy musicians who have been busking together for less than a year will represent London and east England at a national open mic competition January 24.

Joe Jenkins, 15, and Oscar Cloud, 16, otherwise known as JJ and Oscar, performed at the Lady Eleanor Holles School and at a rock concert at their own Hampton School, before deciding to try busking in busy high streets.

Mr Jenkins, the band’s singer, said the busking took a lot of confidence but was a great way of developing their skills and refining their set-list of songs.

He said: “We gave it a go and managed to make quite a bit of money, so now we busk once a week in Richmond or Kingston.”

The boys were spotted by staff at Richmond’s the Basement Door, and have now played three times at the venue.

They auditioned for the Open Mic UK competition after coming across the website in the summer, but Mr Jenkins said they had no idea they would progress this far.

He said: “We were quite nervous performing for the judges, more than we had been busking or at our other gigs. It was much more nerve-racking than performing for the public.”

Mr Jenkins said if the band won the £5,000 prize, he would like to use the money to turn the attic at his family home into a recording studio.