Dartford can stake a claim to The Rolling Stones, but soon Gravesend may have some superstar artists to call its own.

Thanks to new state of the art music facility, students at Gravesend Grammar School will be able to create, rehearse and record their own hits like never before.

Nothing made the school’s ambition for the venue more apparent than the appearance of songstress Karen Harding, who shot to fame last year with her best selling track Say Something.

“It is really nice and really welcoming, it has just got a really nice energy about it,” said the pop star, who cut the ribbon and performed for an excited crowd at the official opening on Tuesday afternoon.

“We had nothing like this at school, we had little rooms with nothing in them but here everything is great.

“The amount of phones that were being held up was so nice, everyone was just watching and enjoying it. I really felt like everyone wanted to be here!”

The 24 year old was certainly the star attraction, with queues building for selfies and autographs, but she was not the only famous face.

Also there was Andy Gangadeen , the drummer for Brit Award nominated electronic band Chase & Status .

“I went to a grammar school and we had nothing like this,” he said.

“The music room there was so inconsequential. If something like this had been around then it would have been amazing.”

Dozens of students and staff squeezed into the impressive space, which features a wide variety of instruments, a recording booth and other top tier technology.

Although the school dropped music as an exam subject years ago, it has embraced the art’s creative side since the arrival of teacher Ashton Miranda.

The musician and producer, who also acts as Karen Harding’s managing director, is an old friend of head teacher Geoff Wybar and began teaching in his free time five years ago.

“I work a couple of days a week but the school have always been supportive and let me do as much or as little as I can,” he explained.

“For about four years it has been a real passion project. The facilities we had before were not great, but seeing artists like Karen can be an inspiration for the kids. It is something to look up to.

“Not every school has facilities like this and has amazing artists come in to perform for them. It is a really good stepping stone — this is a great place for students to get inspired, record music, write music and rehearse all in one space.”

Among those hoping to take advantage of the facility are Oscar Blacker, 14, Espen Laurie and Joseph Robson, both 15.

They have their own band, Relentless, and hope they can now take it to the next level.

Oscar said: “We have been waiting for quite a while for this improvement. We are really going to get a feel for what it is like to make music.”

Budding drummer Joseph is happy with the new equipment, while Espen hopes the band can now make a big step forward.

“For about two years we have needed a big step, now it is finally here we are quite excited,” he said.

“It is going to really improve music for the school.”

Perhaps they, or one of Gravesend Grammar’s other talented musicians, will be back to inspire the next generation in the years ahead.

For more pictures, see Thursday's Gravesend Messenger.