After yet another outstanding House Drama competition, the results have been announced, with Parks lifting the coveted trophy with an outstanding performance of a play based around the fairy tale of Snow White. Parks were closely followed by Austen in 2nd place with their version of Shrek, which was full of humour and Hepburn with a polished performance of the Wizard of Oz finished 3rd.

After a very challenging brief last year, due to year group bubbles, the Lower Sixth and Year 7s were delighted to be able to collaborate and prepare their performances together this year. The Lower Sixth students’ directors were well prepared with each House having written their own play script with the brief that each play needed to champion the BGS values of being Bold, Imaginative and Reflective. The scripts and performances were extremely creative and the Lower Sixth teams thoroughly enjoyed working with the Year 7s to create something very special.

Mrs Axford (Assistant Head) said: “The Lower Sixth were extraordinary across all Houses, keeping to the brief so brilliantly too. It was also lovely to see the Year 7s supporting each other, cementing friendships and growing in confidence with each rehearsal. All the performances were tremendously fun to watch and the creativity and effort that had gone in to the making of the scenery and props was also outstanding.”

Mrs Gibson (Headmistress) who was part of the judging panel, added: “It was such a great joy for me to be asked to judge the House Drama competition again. What I really admired was how well all the girls worked together as a team: they were so supportive of one another; they had clearly worked hard on their scripts and costumes; and their acting skills were fantastic. It was so hard to pick a winner, as I thoroughly enjoyed each performance.”

Sienna Burger (Year 7, Austen) said: “I really enjoyed expressing the school's values through a play. It definitely made the rest of my House and I step out of our comfort zones and try something new! I really enjoyed working with the Lower Sixth as it gave me a chance to get to know more people in my House. House drama was definitely a great experience and I’m happy that I was part of the final performance.”

Ishani Patel (Lower Sixth, Parks) added: “Reflecting on Park’s victory, all the Year 7s should be so proud of the hard work they have put in; it’s not always easy to learn a large amount of lines in such a short amount of time, but the performance they gave was outstanding! This experience has helped me to shape my leadership skills, as I took on the roles of writer and director and I’ve absolutely enjoyed collaborating with everyone to organise our version of Snow White, and being imaginative with our themes of feeling confident in yourself, which certainly helped us in making some bold choices. I’m pleased that everyone was entertained and I hope that the other houses had some memorable experiences in fostering a distinctive connection with each other.”