Youngsters triumph at Southend Music Festival (From Echo)

Youngsters triumph at Southend Music Festival

4:54am Wednesday 21st November 2007 in

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TUNEFUL melodies, shining young faces and sweet, youthful voices can only mean one thing - the town's annual music festival is back.

More than 1,300 competitors took to the stage at Crowstone Christian Centre, in Westcliff, including talented musicians, actors and choirs, all keen to wow Southend Music Festival's judges.

Performers aged six to 80 get to show their flair for the arts to the adjudicators before Sunday's final, but the children are the stars.

Sally Browne, chairman of the festival, said: "The adjudicators are very eminent musicians themselves or specialise in speech and drama and have all commented on the high standard of the artists generally in Southend.

"They are very impressed we have such a high standard of teaching, which is important. If it wasn't for the teachers, in most instances we wouldn't have such good contestants. The judges think the artists in the town are wonderful."

St Hilda's School, Westcliff, celebrated its best-ever results at the festival, with pupils taking a clutch of medals and prizes. Louise Barton, seven, performed so well in all her classes she was presented with the Gresham Cup.

Eunice Eke, 14, won a place in the national finals of the Thomas Cramner Schools Prize, a competition for reading from the Common Book of Prayer.

Crowstone Preparatory School, in Westcliff, also had cause to celebrate with a gold medal for its Year 5 performance, based on Kit Wright's My Dad, Your Dad.

The school also won the Helen Thatcher Cup and a gold medal for its prepared group mime.

Louise Manders, head of drama at the school, said: "I'm delighted with all my students and have nothing but praise for their outstanding effort and enthusiasm."