Festival Fame for Foundation

Before the Easter holiday, members of the King’s Foundation aged from 4 to 18 performed in the 72^nd Worcester Competitive Arts Festival. The Festival celebrates the best in music, drama, poetry and prose, and pupils from King’s excelled in all areas.

The events ran throughout March and began on Saturday 11^th March with a music day filled with instrumental solos including piano, string, brass, woodwind and vocal, classical instrumental ensembles and some fantastic choirs. Performers from all over the King’s Foundation took part, with a strong representation from King’s Hawford and King’s St Alban’s, with Evie R, Brody S, William B, Olivia L, Michelle Z, Alexandra S, Charlotte H and Thomas H, who was one of our youngest performers in the whole festival!

Saturday 18^th March featured speech and drama, prose reading, sight reading, verse speaking, duologue acting, sonnets, Shakespeare, acted scenes and devised drama. Performers from King’s Worcester included Abby T, Molly B, Tom B, Scarlett J, Arabella T and Alice K, Luca S, Milly Y, Florence C. King’s St Alban’s pupils Charlotte H, Edith H, Greta W, Georgina N also enjoyed taking to the stage.

Abby T in particular did a phenomenal job in all of her performances across the Festival and was awarded the Arts Council Award for Drama.

The Rock and Pop sections followed hot on the heels of the ever-popular King’s Open Mic Night in the Boathouse on Friday 17^th March, taking place on Sunday the 19^th for the first time ever at The Marr’s Bar. This afternoon and evening were a great success.

King’s St Alban’s Tom B and friend Matthew H, both 10-year-old drummers, started the afternoon with impressive, stage-commanding performances.  They were followed by more King’s Foundation soloists, groups and bands, with Hannah B and Jack B’s band, Split Second winning a coveted performance spot at the Mello Festival in Upton on the 26^th to 28^th May Bank Holiday weekend. Performers included Tom B,  Ava H, Joe S, Hannah B, Olivia L, Bella C, Molly B, Abby T, Ben B, Anton DeV, Sam P and Jack B.

Sunday 26^th March saw a long day of music-theatre solos and duets, alongside non-competitive workshops. Senior School’s Rosie B’s performance of Blue Hair, and Just One Step by Niamh Thomas, who was a pupil of King’s from 2015 to 2022, were both awarded Silver, and there were many other polished and enjoyable performances from King’s pupils in every section. Performers from King’s included: Edith D, Dan L, Molly B, Rosie B, Florence S, Seren L, Zofia W, Evie D, Florence C, Grace W, Daisy B, Emily S and Harriette T.

The Celebration Concert on Monday 27^th March rounded off the Festival, showcasing the winners from each day.  Elijah B and Sam P performed Dancing on My Own and Abby T performed an extract from Kellie Powell’s Dogface. King’s St Alban’s Charlotte H also performed the short story she wrote on the theme of ‘The Forest’, which received a very rare ‘Honours’ mark.

Congratulations and well done to all King’s Foundation pupils who took part.

 Sarah Stone, King’s Worcester peripatetic singing teacher