From left: Alyssia Jolly, 11, Nina ­, 14, Sham Yonas, 15, and Ambar Chimara, 11

CHILDREN from a Highbury charity have won big at a city-wide talent contest that Little Simz once performed at.

Members of the kids’ charity Amberliegh came first, second and third for their stellar performances in the Boroughs United show.

The young persons’ variety contest, which features singing, dancing and rapping, took place at Hackney Empire on Sunday. Hundreds of children aged six to 19 took part.

Manager at the charity Alkunna Nwanna-Skeete said: “It’s a really big family event. Some parents haven’t seen their children perform before so it’s a good event to showcase that. One of our missions at Amberliegh is self-confidence and self-esteem. That’s our aim: to get young people building up their self-esteem. This is one of the reasons why we enter, to get these children to understand where they are at in terms of their confidence.”

The charity entered six children to sing in the show with classics ranging from Proud Mary and My Heart Will Go On.

Little Simz – a famous rapper and singer from Islington who won best album winner at the NME and Ivor Novello awards – real name Simbiatu Ajikawo – once performed at the event.