But on Wednesday the Thirsty Merc singer was in his element just dishing out songwriting advice to Woonona High School students.

Thistlethwayte and well-known music producer Robert Conley were at the school as part of SongMakers – a national mentoring program run by APRA AMCOS with support from the Federal Government.

Sixteen students from Woonona, one of only 50 select Australian schools chosen for the program, worked closely with Thistlethwayte and Conley to create ‘market ready’ music from scratch.

Woonona HS music coordinator Rhiannon Sharp said the students enjoyed the experience.

‘’They spent the morning sessions having a discussion about the music industry and songwriting as a career and the kids were enthralled by it,’’ she said.

‘’They are working in groups of four writing songs from scratch which will then be recorded.’’

The SongMakers’ mentors will be at Woonona HS on Thursday as well.

‘’We’ve got a really strong music program already with lots of performance opportunities for the students in collaboration but songwriting is an area that we'd like to develop a lot further,’’ Miss Sharp said.

‘’I think they [students] do have the skills but this can build their confidence to actually try songwriting.

‘’I think after two days –  walking away with a market ready demo – and having worked alongside some industry professionals – should really help to boost that confidence and set them off on the right track.

‘’We are hoping that will then flow on and these 16 students will be able to mentor some of our other students who didn’t get to participate in the workshop and help develop the culture of songwriting within the school.’’

 APRA AMCOS member services group head Dean Ormston congratulated Woonona High on securing a place on the contemporary music program.

‘’It is a credit to the strength of the music program at the school that we have selected it for a visit this year,’’ he said.

‘’The great thing about the SongMakers program is that it brings the real world into the classroom.

‘’Students get to collaborate with and learn from some of the biggest names in music. And because it’s so hands-on, it really fast-tracks students’ understanding of today’s contemporary music world and the steps needed for success.’’

Miss Sharp added this wasn’t the first time Woonona HS students worked with industry professionals in the music industry to create original music.

In 2002, 2010 and 2011, music students participated in the Kool Skools Recording Project, creating and recording three albums of original music, receiving awards including Best Metal Track, Best Acoustic Track and Best Male Vocalist.

In 2011, Year 12 student Courtney Loxton was selected from the Music: Count Us In National Song Writing Competition to work alongside John Foreman, Thistlethwayte and many other industry mentors in Sydney to create and record an original song with three other students.

Loxton co-wrote “We’ve Got The Music’’, which was learnt and performed by students across the nation.