Page to Stage Drama Competition – winner announced

Random House Children’s Books, in partnership with National Drama, is delighted to announce the winner of the Page to Stage Drama Competition, in which secondary schools were set the task to dramatise and film the opening scenes of Theresa Breslin’s latest book PRISONER OF THE INQUISITION.  

Judges’ comments on the entries included:

“Britain’s definitely got Talent with a capital T!  Impressive… thrilling and absorbing to watch… innovative scripting… real artistry… absorbing …mastery of technical skills… fantastic and fabulous!

Award-winning author Theresa Breslin says she was”…absolutely stunned by the superb quality of the film clips submitted. It’s amazing to see my characters brought to life by young people. I keep watching the pieces again and again and am always caught up in the action. Tremendous effort has gone into these and all entrants should feel extremely proud of their work.”  

Random House Children’s Books stated “A very big thank-you to the schools who participated. PRISONER OF THE INQUISITION is a book very suited to dramatic interpretation. Clearly a great deal of creative thinking, planning, time and effort has been spent on the submissions, and we hope that the schools enjoyed doing it as much as we enjoyed watching them.”Kate Fleming, vice chair of National Drama commented: “National Drama has been privileged to be in partnership with Random House Children’s Books Page to Stage Drama Competition and delighted that the entries have been of such a high standard. It is so exciting to know that talented, committed staff and students have had the opportunity to demonstrate their intellect, artistic ability, and dramatic media expertise in this competition. Congratulations to all contributors.” 

The overall winner is FARNBOROUGH HILL SCHOOL, in Hampshire, winning a £1,000 of books and an event with Theresa Breslin. 

The Judges’ announcement: 

“Farnborough Hill School is the worthy winner of this competition and those named on the film’s Credit List should take a deserved standing ovation. From the opening elegantly framed shots of the dying mother, the boy’s confusion and the father’s increasing desperation, the piece didn’t falter. Individual scenes, speeches delivered direct to camera and crowd scenes displayed conviction and empathy. Thoughtful scene setting, well crafted scripting and smooth linkage combined with intelligent acting and understanding of the story (with the inherent undercurrents) showed real mastery of the form. Pitch perfect”

The winning entries and special mentions submitted via the Internet can be seen on http://www.theresabreslin.co.uk/pagetostage-videos.htm and http://www.youtube.com/pagetostage  

RESULTS OF PRISONER OF THE INQUISITION PAGE TO STAGE COMPETITION:  

OVERALL WINNER:       FARNBOROUGH HILL SCHOOL, Farnborough,   

                                            Hampshire

Joint second place:         COATBRIDGE HIGH SCHOOL

Joint second place:         LORD WANDSWORTH COLLEGE
Third place:                       EVEREST COMMUNITY COLLEGE

The judges would also like to make special mention of:

• Doon Academy Northampton School for Girls (especially Group 5)
• Old Palace of John Whitgift School