Year 8 perform Shakespearean monologues in national competition

On Monday 16 January, Year 8 pupils took part in round 2 of the English-Speaking Union’s Performing Shakespeare competition, which encourages pupils to discover and express their excitement for Shakespeare, by inviting them to perform a monologue from Shakespeare’s texts in whichever way they choose.

Crucially, students must also introduce their performance, thereby enhancing their public speaking and engagement skills. The competition not only brings to life the Shakespeare study requirement in the curriculum in an innovative and exciting way, but it also enables students to develop their creativity, their confidence, and their ability to express themselves – valuable skills in the classroom, as well as the wider world.

We had a range of monologues from villains, heroes, lovers, to politicians and all pupils worked really hard on their introductions and performances, dedicating a lot of time to learning these by heart. The English department are very proud of all pupils that took part and of the tremendous performances at the event.

3 prize winners (shown below): Michela B, Fred W and Charlie B

2 highly commended: Adeline I, Will H

In the next round, our winners will be competing against other local schools and we wish them well!