Band members Fabian Shaw, Yannick Weastell, and Alastair Mawhinney's original composition Crazy Lady won the Rockquest best song award on Friday night in Christchurch.
The teenage trio had to settle for second place in the Rockquest grand final, the supreme award going to Canterbury hard rock act Beneath the Silence.
Guitarist and vocalist Fabian said winning best song award was "awesome".
"It would have been great to win overall, but best song is a really big thing," he said.
The band may get to record the composition for a national Rockquest CD and DVD, which could be produced to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the national secondary school music awards, Fabian said.
Crazy Lady was written near the start of this year and was played at the sell-out Rippon Music Festival in February, when Fabian, Yannick and former drummer Bink Bowler performed as The Strutts.
Fabian said Yannick had perfected the chorus riff for Crazy Lady , while he had written the lyrics and also come up with the intro and verse riffs.
Practice had put the final polish on the tune, he said.
South Island school bands reigned supreme at this year's awards, held at the Christchurch Town Hall, in front of a crowd of teenagers, parents and music industry guests.
Beneath The Silence band members hailed from Cashmere, Rangiora, and Kaiapoi High Schools, while the Slur-Tones are from Mt Aspiring College, in Wanaka.
Third place went to Timaru Boys high School band New York Minutes.
