X FACTOR fever came to James Graham's former secondary school this week as pupils showed their support for the Bicknacre singing sensation.
The 17-year-old sailed through to the X Factor live shows last weekend after his eight-strong boy band impressed mentor Louis Walsh with a rendition of "Mirrors" by Justin Timberlake on Friday night's episode.
And this week his old school friends and teachers at The Sandon School, in Molrams Lane, Chelmsford, joined together to show their support for the former Maldon's Got Talent winner as he gears up to perform live in front of millions watching at home.
His mum Paula, 47, who works in the learning support team at the school, said: "The school has been so supportive of James from the start, everyone, the teachers, all the staff and his old school friends.
"He had a great time at this school and I know it would mean the world to him to see people gathered here cheering him on."
James lives at home with his mum, Paula, his dad Dave and his older brother Ben, 20, and has spent hours practising his singing in his bedroom when he isn't helping out in the A.T Music studio in Rettendon.
But at the moment he has been relocated to a huge X Factor house, in a secret London location, with the rest of the eight-strong boy band.
Paula told the Chronicle: "The house he is staying in is lovely, but with eight boys all in the same place it will be pretty messy and noisy.
"I do miss him but I know he's having a great time with his band mates so I don't mind."
It's been a meteoric rise to fame for the former Priory primary school pupil who won Maldon's Got Talent in 2012, and now has over 34,000 followers on his Twitter account.
And his mum Paula, of Westerings, said that James was in confident mood, and she is looking forward to heading up to London to watch him perform at the live shows.
She said: "I think the nerves are setting in but he is really excited to get started. He's a quiet boy but he knows he can sing and the rest of the band are also really talented.
"I will be nervous, and so will he, but I just said to him that room only has 700 or so people in and that he should forget about the millions watching at home.
"I just don't know who to cheer for. It will seem a bit strange cheering for him because they haven't even got a band name yet."
In the previous round of the competition James was whisked off to the island paradise of Bermuda along with his new band mates to perform to Louis Walsh and guest judge Tulisa Contostavlos.
Tulisa said on the ITV show: "Performance wise they completely gripped me, I loved it, you've got to hope the bond they have made stays that way."
With Louis adding: "You have got great chemistry and you've got a good work ethic. Boys, it's not good news it's great news."
Even though the group were only formed prior to the boot camp stage they will now perform as one of the 12 finalists in next week's live show.
James and his fellow group members Reece Bibby, 15, Tom Mann, 20, Casey Johnson, 19, Jake Sims, 19, Charlie Jones, 14, Barclay Beales, 18, and Chris Leonard, 18, will be joined by girl group Blonde Electra and four piece band Only The Young in next week's show.
The Manchester United fan and former Focus Ferrers footballer first discovered he could sing after he won a talent competition as a ten-year-old at the Priory Primary School on Bicknacre Road with a home-choreographed routine to Queen's Don't Stop Me Now.
