Speech & Drama
Our Speech & Drama Section encourages children and young adults to find their voice - whether this be through acting, public speaking, verse or prose reading. We offer a wide range of classes to cater for the spoken word. As with all our classes, professional written and verbal feedback across beginner, intermediate, and advanced classes is given.
News
To all the performers and their families, thank you for being part of our festival.
We hope that this experience has inspired you to continue pursuing your passion for the performing arts.
Our warmest wishes for future success and happiness in your performing endeavours.
Speech and Drama Timetable for 2027
- Saturday 13th, & Sunday 14th March
- Saturday 20th, & Sunday 21st March
(Dates may vary according to entry levels)
Entries 2027
Entries open October 2026.
Main Venue
The Oakwood Centre, Headley Rd, Woodley, Berks, RG5 4JZ.
Group Verse Speaking:
The Bulmershe School, Woodlands Avenue, Woodley RG5 3EU
Guidance
Section Chairman
Jacquie Newport
Assistant: Celia Thatcher
Email: speech.drama@woodleyfestival.org.uk
Please do follow us on our social media platforms – Facebook and Instagram for all updates
Speech and Drama Section Adjudicator for 2025 was
Jenny Thornton
AGSM (teaching), ALAM (Acting and Public Speaking), Certificate in Education, LISTD, CDE (Dance), Adjudicator for British and International Federation of Festivals.
Jenny trained at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama gaining awards for Character Acting and for Most Promising Teacher. Jenny has led the Performing Arts Teams in large Comprehensives, been an Assistant Principal for Edexcel and now enjoys running her own Performance Centre with ages from 4 years to adults delivering drama, dance and musical theatre and also writing. Her play called “Gone” gained a Commended when performed at The Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond as did her most recent play “Young Love”. She is pleased to be part of the LAMDA examining team and has two pieces in their new acting anthology.
Jenny is looking forward to re- visiting the drama section of The Woodley Festival and making it a very positive experience for all concerned. The standard is always so very high, atmosphere electric and organisation superb.
“Drama is a life skill that changed me from a stuttering introvert to a confident individual. We can give our children no better opportunity.” Jenny Thornton
Speech and Drama Section Adjudicator for 2026 was
Ginny Avery
MA, PGDipVoice, LLAM
Ginny trained in Theatre Arts at Italia Conti, studied Classical and Contemporary Mime at the Adam Darius Mime Centre, and achieved a Masters in Voice at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Her performance career spans the full breadth of ‘the business’, including television, film and radio, but especially relishing performing as an Immersive Theatre Character!
With nearly four decades of experience teaching speech and drama, Ginny enjoyed running Encore Youth Theatre in Wallingford, where she wrote and directed numerous productions. Many of these toured local festivals, culminating in her original musical composition Odyssey!
As a voice coach, Ginny has presented her work to the British Voice Association and spoken at the Speech Communication Association Conference in New Zealand. She has served as a Voice Specialist for institutions such as South Thames College and the Oxford School of Drama and spent eight years on the Voice Faculty at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
Ginny’s highly sought-after “Speaking with Confidence” courses cover presentation skills, motivational speaking, telesales training, and vocal health. Her extensive client list includes Mars, Coty, SD Worx, Expand Research, and Heathrow Air Traffic Control, as well as schools, colleges and Universities, including St Annes, St Johns and the University of West England.
Ginny also enjoyed 8 years as a musical theatre examiner for the London College of Music and Media and continues as a regular speech and drama adjudicator, sharing her experience and expertise to festivals throughout the UK.
Since 2000, Ginny has brought diverse and exciting arts and cultural events to the villages of South Oxfordshire through her role as Artistic Director for The GAP Festival.
Conditions of Entry
Conditions of Entry Speech and Drama (See also general conditions of entry below)
ANNOUNCING PIECES. Dramatic items should be announced with title and author at the time of performance to qualify for copyright indemnity and the performer must not change the words or gender of the character.
ACTING — a copy of the script must be presented to the Adjudicator prior to the commencement of the performance.
YOU NEED COPYRIGHT AGREEMENT FOR DUOLOGUE & GROUP ACTING. Duologue and Group Acting classes are not covered by The Festival’s copyright agreement, so copyright for these items should be sought by performers at the time of entry.
COPYRIGHT APPROVED. The Woodley Festival is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society. This means that entrants do not have to seek copyright permission for any poetry, prose or solo dramatic items performed, to a time limit of 10 minutes.
AUTHORS REIMBURSED. Performers and teachers will be delighted to know that their participating in this Festival means that authors will be directly reimbursed as a consequence of their works being performed at this Festival.
PROPS. The Festival has a limited supply of folding chairs, rigid chairs, two 180cm x 75cm folding trestle tables, and a smaller table. For the safety of the performers, these folding chairs & tables must not be stood on, and folding tables must only be moved under adult supervision. The teacher/coach or parent, not the Festival, is responsible for the supply & safe operation of all props. The following are not permitted within the festival buildings: animals (except guide dogs), smoke and fire.
General Conditions of Entry (Please note special Conditions of Entry for each section above)
A COPY OF PIECES FOR THE USE OF THE ADJUDICATOR must be handed in prior to your performance, and be collected at the end of the class. Please make sure your name is on the copy.
LATE ENTRIES are not normally accepted. Where feasible, the Section Chair may possibly exercise discretion to accept a late entry shortly after the closing date. Time is of the essence, so make any such request by phone or email, not post. Fees for unaccepted late entries will be returned.
ENTRY FEES are not refundable. Receipts will be sent on request.
TIMES & DATES. Entrants must accept the times and dates allocated by us to any class. However, we will try to accommodate special requests in exceptional circumstances, if specified, with reasons, on the entry form.
THE ADJUDICATOR’S DECISION will be final. No contact may be made with the Adjudicators by entrants, parents, teachers or other interested parties, unless by the consent of a member of the Committee. Trophies & prizes will be awarded to competitors at the discretion of the adjudicator.
ELECTRONIC ACCOMPANIMENT is not allowed in any section of the Festival.
No unauthorised PHOTOGRAPHY, VIDEO & SOUND recording is allowed at the Festival whether using cameras, phones, or other equipment. Where parents/guardians/carers do not wish photos to be taken at all, then the responsible adult attending should ensure that their child/pupil/vulnerable adult is not included in official authorised photos.
OPEN CLASSES, AMATEURS & PROFESSIONALS. A professional is someone who earns their main livelihood from performing, not teaching, the instrument concerned. Medals are not awarded in the Open – Adult classes, and trophies are awarded at the discretion of the adjudicator.
Professionals may enter only the Open Classes and will not be eligible for trophies. However, an Open Ensemble of four or more players may contain one or more professionals (players or conductor) and still be eligible for a trophy. The number of such professionals must be stated on the entry forms.SUB-DIVIDING & COMBINING CLASSES, & ORDER OFPERFORMANCE. The organisers will sub-divide or combine classes if circumstances make this necessary or desirable. The order of performance within a Class is at the sole discretion of the Section Chairman. Only in exceptional circumstances will the printed order be varied and then only with the agreement of the Adjudicator.
SAFETY OF PERFORMERS. It is necessary for teachers and parents to be aware of their responsibilities in entering any performers with limited physical capabilities or special needs, bearing in mind the limitations imposed by the stage and surrounding environment. It is also necessary for the teacher or parent to pass on to the adjudicator, via the section chair, any such information that would impact on the adjudicator’s work.
ADJUDICATOR’S MARKS. When awarding marks, the Adjudicators will take into consideration the suitability of own choice material in own choice classes and competency when tuning instruments, when applicable.
AGE OF AUDIENCE. Children are very welcome at the Festival, both as performers and in the audience. Generally, we ask you to consider not bringing pre-school children to the Festival. We recognise that circumstances sometimes make this unavoidable. If so, please be prepared to take out your child if they start to cause any disturbance – in fairness to the performers and the audience around you – as we do not wish to have to ask you to leave the performance room.
LOSS OR DAMAGE. The Festival Committee can accept no responsibility for loss or damage to personal belongings or equipment brought to the Festival.
CANCELLATION. The Committee reserves the right to cancel a class without prior notice.
DATA PROTECTION ACT 1998. The Woodley Festival will hold data submitted on the entry form on computer, solely for the purpose of running the Festival. The data will not be made available, or communicated, to any third party.
SAFEGUARDING POLICY. This policy relates to children under the age of 18 years and those vulnerable adults of any age who are identified to the organisers prior to their arrival at the Festival. Copies of this policy will be on display during the Festival.
Speech and Drama Trophy Winners 2025
| Trophy | Description | 2025 Winner |
| St. Joseph’s Cup | Best Performance in Prose Reading | not awarded |
| Choral Verse Speaking – Year 2 and Under | Choral Verse Speaking – Year 2 and Under | not awarded |
| Choral Verse Speaking – Year 4 and Under | Choral Verse Speaking – Year 4 and Under | Crosfields School |
| Choral Verse Speaking – Year 6 and Under | Choral Verse Speaking – Year 6 and Under | Crosfields School |
| The Waverley Cup | Best Performance in Verse Speaking | Jai Malpani |
| Woodley and Earley Times Cup | Duologue Acting | Tia Gold and Clementine Studdert-Kennedy |
| Write a Verse | Write a Verse | Henry Rollason |
| Write a Story | Write a Story | Trinity McLeod |
| The Crosfields School Cup | Most Versatile Performer in the Speech and Drama Section Up to Year 8 | Dalia Elkholy |
| News Reel Trophy | Best Performance in the Television Presenter Classes | not awarded |
| Betty Titcombe Memorial Shield | Best Performance in Sight Reading | Malika Jallo Jamboria |
| Story Telling Trophy | Best Performance in Story Telling Classes | Amira Elkholy |
| Group Mime | Best Performance in Group Mime | not awarded |
| Mime Cup | Best Performance in Solo Mime | Ella Hanson |
| Woodley Town Council Cup | Best Performance in Group Acting | Theatre Rockets |
| Woodley Town Council Cup | Best Performance in Solo Acting | Olivia Whitelaw |
| Margaret Paterson Cup | Public Speaking Year 7 Upwards | Trinity McLeod |
| Edna Grace Trophy | An outstanding performance from a young performer | Cerys Williams |
| Joan Ellis Memorial Cup | Best Performance in Shakespeare to Year 8 | Sophia Liu |
| Gillian Reid Cup | Public Speaking Year 7 and upwards | Sonya Apert |
| Improvisation Cup | Best Performance in Duo Improvisation | Henry Rollason and Vijay Dhanjal |
| The Queen Anne Star Year 9 – 11 (Small) | Most promising performance in Solo Acting | Harriet proctor Pearson |
| The Queen Anne Star up to Year 8 (Large) | Most promising performance in Solo Acting | Nanya Gold and Maya Korgaonar |
| Musical Theatre Trophy | Best performance in Musical Theatre | Sophie Hayward |
| Public Speaking | Best Performance in Public Speaking Year 6 and under | Aishani Singh |
| Duologue Verse Speaking | Most memorable performance in Duologue Verse Speaking | Sidharth Krishnasagar and Huxley Clamp |
| Maclean-Hobkirk Trophy | Own Composition – overall winner | Henry Rollason |
| Sonning Village Players Cup | Senior Drama Award | not awarded |