Eisteddfod

The Annual Eisteddfod is a major event in the school’s arts and house calendar. It combines competitions in Music, Drama, Art, Dance and Basketball and takes place over two evenings in March.

Students compete for their house across this wide range of arts and sporting activities which all contribute to the highly coveted Eisteddfod Cup. Participation in the Eisteddfod across the school is very high and has been recognised and commended by external bodies such as Artsmark as a means by which we encourage all our students to engage with the Arts.

Students compete for the PE Cup through a long-established basketball competition which sees all tutor groups across the school fielding a team in the ‘knock out’ stages.

Students also compete in a festival of dance which encompasses students from all age groups and a wide range of styles ranging from street-dance and contemporary to ballet and traditional Irish dance. The standard is remarkably high and offers an exceptional evening of entertainment.

The final night of the Eisteddfod sees the school hall and stage transformed and packed with parents and participating students proudly sporting their house colours. Each house contributes an individual singing and instrumental performance as well as a choral performance by their house choir.

These choirs typically fill the stage, with student numbers commonly in the region of two hundred students for each house. Houses also stage a section of a set play, with students from the lower school directed by Sixth Form House Leaders.

These components are judged by external guest judges who offer their feedback at the end of the evening. The level of talent and innovation on display is always exceptional and by the time the Eisteddfod Cup is awarded at the end of the evening the atmosphere is nothing short of electrifying.