A CHARITY single to help blind children is set to be released by a former Winchester student.

Eighteen-year-old Emma Lawrence, who has just completed A levels at Peter Symonds College, has penned the tune inspired by the challenges and influences teenagers face.

The single 'You Are' will raise money for national charity Living Paintings, which publishes audio and tactile books to give blind children the chance to enjoy picture books in the same way as their sighted friends.

It lends out books through a free postal library and supports itself entirely through grants and donations.

Emma said it made sense to support the charity.

"When I was volunteering for them I saw at first-hand how Living Paintings really changes the lives of blind children and I wanted to do something more to help," she said.

"One mum told me how her daughter’s ‘very dark world had been made bright’ by their work and that’s what gave me the idea; in “you are” I refer to coming through dark times. It all just seemed to make sense."

The singer-songwriter worked with Damon Sawyer of Platform Studios for the record, which will be released on Friday July 10.

He said: "Emma’s music is a fusion of folk and pop and clearly expresses the emotions of her songs.

"Her sound crosses the borders of Florence and the Machine, Lana Del Rey and Adele but has its own unique quality and style.

"Her inspiration comes from such artists as Ed Sheeran, Sam Smith and Emilie Sande."

The teenager, from Newbury, has been writing and performing in public since she was 15-years-old and has already had two top 40 hits in the iTunes singer-songwriter chart.

Later this year she will take a place at the prestigious British and Irish Modern Music Institute which has nurtured talent such as George Ezra, The Kooks and James Bay.

‘You Are’ sees the singer's folk-tinged voice blend with a classic rock melody. She worked with sessions musicians Geoff Dunn (drums), Greg Coulson (keyboard), Liam Tillyer (bass), Stu Dixon (guitar) and Beth Porter (cello) for the track.

Chief executive of Living Paintings, Camilla Oldland, said it is "simply amazing" that Emma is supporting the charity.

"All the profits from the sale of ‘You Are’ will come straight to Living Paintings so it’s no surprise that we are doing everything we can to promote it despite being music industry virgins," she said.

"As we have just celebrated reaching 10,000 blind and partially sighted people with our free service we thought it fitting to set a target of getting 10,000 downloads of the single.

"The money raised will help us literally transform the lives of so many more blind children."

‘You Are’ by Emma Lawrence is available for pre-order from iTunes now, to download from July 10, and costs 79p.