Two of our talented Year 9 pupils made it through to the regional rounds of this prestigious acting and oracy competition. Both were very impressive but ultimately only one could progress to finals day. We are delighted to report that Harvey (Year 9) will be representing Warwick School in the national final held at the Globe Theatre, London.

Seb delivered a chilling and mercurial portrayal of Macbeth as he plots Duncan’s murder. Harvey, meanwhile, gave a charming and cheeky rendition of Romeo standing below Juliet’s balcony. It took the judges over an hour to reach a final decision as the field was so strong. Seb was highly commended and is definitely a talent to look out for in the future. Meanwhile Harvey will travel down to London to compete against the other regional winners.

The ESU Performing Shakespeare Competition inspires students ‘to express their passion, ideas and imagination through the medium of performance, while simultaneously developing fundamental oracy skills.’ Although a well-established annual event, this was Warwick School’s first foray into the competition.

‘From ‘bedazzled’ to ‘scuffles’, Shakespeare was one of the greatest inventors of new words the English language has ever seen. The English-Speaking Union’s Performing Shakespeare Competition encourages Key Stage 3 from across the country to discover and share his love of language, inviting them to perform a monologue or duologue from any of Shakespeare’s plays, in whichever way they choose.’ (ESU)

Crucially, pupils must also introduce their performance, thereby enhancing their public speaking and engagement skills.

We wish Harvey the best of luck!