Essex-born singer Tom Ryder is visiting local schools from next week to discuss online safety and the pressures of social conformity.

With several schools also lined-up elsewhere in the UK over the coming months, the 27 year old is going to be talking about a topic that lies particularly close to home. Throughout his teenage years, Tom experienced a great deal of pressure to perform well at school. “The expectation that I would be accepted into Oxford meant that, from GCSE’s onwards I would suffer from insomnia, anxiety and depression”, explains Tom.

Despite feeling a bit daunted about opening up about the pressures he faced during his own teenage years, Tom wants to assure young people that anything is possible and that they need to not only work hard but also enjoy their time at school, rather than fearing it and being worried about the outcome of exams.

As part of the schools tour Tom will also be performing his new single Here We Go Again which is released on Friday 31st March. The music video for the track is already attracting lots of views since it premiered on Vevo last week. Tom hopes to follow-up on his previous successes which included performing his debut single in front of Rod Stewart and Chris Evans, raising £9000 for Macmillan Cancer Support in the process.

Tom said he is “inspired by solo artists with a flair for authentic onstage performance” and cites Damien Rice, Newton Faulkner and Frank Turner as his main influences. Similarly, Tom hopes to provide thousands of young people with a positive influence while on tour.

For more information about Tom visit www.tomrydermusic.com.