SWB hosts Ormiston's Got Talent!

In March 2024 we had the honour of hosting the regional finals of Ormiston’s Got Talent at SWB. Over 100 students and staff from Ormiston schools from all over the region came to take part and it was an excellent event!

Work began back in November when our Performing Arts teams called for audition videos for a range of talents. It was incredibly tough to shortlist just 3, but in the end we narrowed it down to 3 amazing students, Anna Kemp, Lizanne Samath and John Burns, and following an additional OAT shortlisting process we were lucky to have two of them (Lizanna and John) make it into the regional finals, and we were very happy to have Anna present to cheer her team mates on!

Lizanne and John have worked tirelessly at home and in after school rehearsals for weeks, and their finished performances were truly the best they have done!

John performed his spot-on Elvis impersonation act, complete with Las Vegas style outfit, and was the first performer to truly win over the audience with his showmanship. The crowd loved him and we believe he got the biggest audience reaction of any contestent that day, even flirting with the audience half way through! It is amazing to see this quiet and unassuming young man transform into such a showman when he goes in front of a crowd.

Lizanne is one of our seasoned performers, despite only being in Year 8. A former OGT finalist, she once again wowed the audience with her impressive voice, once again demonstrating a maturity of performance that is far beyond her years. All of the other contestants were also brilliant and showcased a variety of talents, making the judging process almost impossible. Sadly our students did not make it through to the finals, but it was a great experience for them and to be included and to hold their own in the company of such outstanding performers from all over the country is a major achievement and we are so proud of them!

Finally we must thank our “Backstage Brains” team, (Shiloh, Vanessa, Tyreece, Summer and Jess) who ran the production behind the scenes despite no full rehearsal, and many Ormiston delegates were very complimentary about their professionalism. The show would not have gone on without them! Thank you to Ormiston Academies Trust for choosing SWB to host, it was a great experience for everybody involved!