‘CATHERINE Bennett’ is ­described as a pop star who is an ideal role model ... and she was created by a nine-year-old schoolgirl from St Ives.

Taylor Houchen and her aunt ­Bryony Kimmings, 32, a ­performance artist from Hackney, worked together to create ‘Catherine’ – Taylor’s dream of the perfect pop star, including releasing a single later this year.

As a seasoned performer, Bryony took on the role of ‘Catherine Bennett’, a museum worker who sings about child-friendly topics such as friendship and animals.

Now Bryony is taking the pop star on the road, with a national tour including shows at Latitude Festival and a recent gig at the Southbank Centre.

Yesterday (Tuesday), she found time in her busy schedule to perform at an assembly and workshop for pupils at Westfield Primary School, St Ives, where Taylor is a pupil.

The project started last year when they were looking at pictures and talking about Taylor’s pop role models. Bryony asked Taylor if she would like to create her own alternative pop star ... and Catherine was born.

Bryony said: “Pop isn’t very diverse. They don’t really sing about anything different from fame, money and love.”

Although Taylor is a keen pop fan, describing some of her favourite artists as Katy Perry, Rihanna and Jessie J, she feels a lot is lacking in the pop world. She said: “They don’t look like they’re having much fun.”

Taylor acts as Catherine Bennett’s manager, having input into everything from how she should look to the topics she sings about.

While the highlight for Taylor was when she first saw Catherine Bennett in full costume and make-up at a studio in London, Bryony’s highlight was when the MP for Cambridge, Julian Huppert, expressed his support for their project.

Taylor plans to join her aunt at as many gigs as she can and when she was asked about what it means to her to see her creation on stage, she said: “It makes me really proud.”

With Taylor’s benchmark for Catherine Bennett’s success set at making three celebrity friends, getting one million YouTube hits and appearing on the Ellen show, they have a long way to go, although they have ticked two celebrities off the list – Yoko Ono and singer Lianne La Havas.

The release date for Catherine Bennett’s debut single is scheduled for September and all profits from download sales will go to charity.

Despite becoming a pop music manager at such a young age, Taylor does not dream of following her aunt and their creation into pop stardom – she wants to be a midwife when she grows up.

Taylor said: “I want CB to make children believe that anything is possible and that music can be about having fun.”