Priory's clean sweep at Isle of Wight Music, Dance and Drama Festival 2023

It was a podium sweep for Year 6 students from Priory School of Our Lady of Walsingham in Whippingham in a verse speaking class at the recent Isle of Wight Music, Dance and Drama Festival.

The students all performed the set piece, A Corner of Bread, by Richard Edwards. The poem tells of a magpie, a swan and a crow who are so busy arguing over a corner of bread that they do not notice a small sparrow stealing the bread from under their noses.

Six pupils from Year 6 took part in the competition and all gained good marks with Isaac achieving 3rd place and 86 marks, Evie gaining 2nd place with a Distinction mark of 87, and Alexia being awarded 1st place and the Westmont Cup with 88 marks and a Distinction.

Year 4 pupil, Ruby, kept the school’s winning streak. She gained 2nd place for her performance of Paint Box in the 8-year-olds verse speaking class and, in spite of being poorly on the day, Beatrix, Year 2, took 3rd place out of the 15 students in her category (6-7years) in her first-ever competition.

Principal, Mr David Lloyd, said: “This is a fantastic achievement and all of our pupils have worked incredibly hard to impress the judges. Regardless of scores and trophies, I feel immensely proud of the passion Priory pupils have for literature and the arts. They are a credit to the school, and I look forward to celebrating their success in school assembly.”