Second local marching band picked to perform in London parade

Catherine Longworth, former Lord Mayor of the City of Westminster, extended the invitation during a visit to the school, one week after Raleigh's Leesville Road High School marching band was awarded the same once-in-a-lifetime offer.

"It's an incredible honor. It's an incredible payoff for the work the kids have this year and the previous 10 years the school has been open," said band director Garrett Griffin. "A lot of them are never going to have an opportunity like this – to travel to another country and see the things we're going to see."

Both bands will head across the pond to ring in 2014 with European flair and perform before an international audience. 

The parade will include more than 8,000 performers and a street audience of more than 500,000 people.