A singer chosen to join Will.i.am’s team on the BBC's The Voice says a Walthamstow college “shaped and nourished” his singing.

Jermain Jackman, a 2013 graduate of Sir George Monoux College in Chingford Road, appeared on the hit TV show on Saturday and sang And I Am Telling You, a song from Broadway musical Dreamgirls.

The 19-year-old, who is also youth co-ordinator for Hackney’s Labour party, was seconds away from disappointment as the end of his performance drew near before Will.i.am chose him.

“Monoux is one of the foundations of my singing,” the Hackney resident said.

“I studied music there and that really shaped me, I had the voice but it shaped and nourished me.”

Jermain, who lives in Hackney and graduated from Monoux in the summer, said he knew from early on that he wanted to attend the college.

“There are loads of colleges around where I live but for some reason Monoux stood out to me and I wanted to go there,” he said.

“Monoux had a great ‘yes you’re welcome here’ fresh vibe. That’s what I got every day I went to Monoux.”

Will.i.am said on the show: “What is crazy fresh is that I think you are supposed to be on my team so we can come up with things we could do together on the philanthropic thing while we are doing the singing stuff. It will be crazy fresh. This is dope!”

Jermain was recently awarded Music Student of the Year and Rising Star at the college’s annual awards ceremony.

Jermain’s ex-music teacher at Monoux Louisa Kennedy said Jermain’s examiner for his BTEC in music performance was in tears after the exam “because he was so amazing”.

“She said she’d run out of superlatives because he was so incredible,” she added.

“I think he can win The Voice, definitely.

“He’s got this phenomenal talent but it’s not just that, his whole personality is so directed and motivated. He’s a lovely humble guy but also very ambitious and very into politics. He’s got a lot of strings to his bow.”