Great Ballard School is celebrating another exceptional year at the Worthing Music and Drama Festival, where 24 students represented the school with talent, enthusiasm and professionalism.

This year saw an impressive number of top three placings across Prose, Verse, Drama, Shakespeare and Improvisation, with several students receiving special commendations. A Great Ballard group won the Improvisation category, demonstrating creativity and strong collaborative skills. Across the younger age groups, pupils earned multiple placings in prose, verse and drama, along with a recognition award for outstanding dramatic promise. One of our youngest performers achieved wins in Drama and Shakespeare and was named a Performer of the Year finalist, also securing the highest junior drama mark of the entire festival.

Older pupils also excelled, with pupils placing across all categories and achieving first places in Prose, Verse, Drama and Duologue categories and the highest senior prose mark. Two senior pupils also qualified for the Performer of the Year finals, with further strong results in Drama and Shakespeare across the cohort reflecting the confidence and stagecraft they have developed during their time at Great Ballard.

We are equally proud that our Head of Drama, Mrs Mustafa, received a Teacher Award in the Junior Performer of the Year category—recognition of the high quality teaching that underpins all our performing arts success.

With so many award winning performances, finalists and category wins, this year’s festival highlights the strength of drama and music at Great Ballard. We are immensely proud of every student who took part and look forward to seeing their talents continue to grow.