A CANADIAN singer and her partner wowed children with a performance at a Hillesley school.

Tia McGraff and her husband and song writing partner Tommy Parham paid a visit to Hillesley Primary School last Friday during their tour around the UK.

The pair alternated between performing songs for the youngsters and fielding questions about their lives in the world of music.

Tia, from Ontario, and Tommy, from Colorado, made plans to visit the school after headteacher and Gazette Teacher of the Year nominee Jayne Pedley contacted them through Facebook.

They have been visiting England for the past decade, touring the country’s towns and cities, performing their mixture of Americana and country music.

“We love playing schools,” said Tia, responding to a pupil’s question about her favourite places to perform.

“We went around different libraries in the area we come from, and we play music festivals and blues cafes.”

During this visit Tia and Tommy will play a gig at Highclere Castle, the set of popular English drama Downton Abbey.

“We’re really looking forward to playing Downton Abbey,” Tommy joked.

The youngsters, many of them keen players of a musical instrument themselves, enjoyed the performance.

Eleven-year-old Freddie told the Gazette he “really enjoyed” the music while Lucy, 10, said she enjoyed the singing in particular, noting a song called Two Wolves ( a song written around Native American legend) as her favourite.

Tia and Tommy performed to around 70 people in Hillesley's village hall on Friday evening.

Tia has international CD releases, four videos on CMT Canada, various film and TV placements and numerous nominations and awards, Her latest CD release, Crazy Beautiful, came out in spring 2015.