Fairfax Academy Eisteddfod 2023: It’s ‘Hooray for Hollywood’ as arts festival goes to the movies

Fairfax Academy Eisteddfod 2023: Fairfax Academy’s annual Eisteddfod brought the stars of the silver screen to Sutton Coldfield, as the legendary school arts festival went to the movies.

Films and Movies were the theme of this year’s Eisteddfod, which ha been a hotly-contested fixture on the school calendar for decades.

Each year the school’s four houses of Coventry, Kenilworth, Stratford and Warwick compete in the week-long arts festival, which includes all kinds of disciplines from music and dance to art and poetry.

Two packed shows at the Fairfax Road school treated audiences to a huge variety of movie-based entertainment, from ambitious dance routines based on James Bond, to instrumentals featuring Hollywood themes and spoken word performances on the world of movies.

It was way back in 1961 that Fairfax held its first Eisteddfod – a two-day competition based on the traditional Welsh festivals that celebrate art, literature, music and performance.

More than 50 years later, Fairfax students care passionately about the annual contest, which is the biggest date on the school’s calendar and the highpoint of the inter-house competition.

Backed by committed staff, the success of the Fairfax Academy Eisteddfod 2023 was driven by the students’ dedication – they write sketches, compose and arrange music, choregraph and rehearse dance routines, often practicing out of school hours. Students also contribute to the smooth running of the shows, working backstage and acting as narrators.

Fairfax Academy Eisteddfod 2023 winners

And on Thursday, December 21, Principal Sean Castle revealed that judges had chosen Coventry as the winners of the overall title.

Principal Sean Castle said: “This year’s Eisteddfod has been simply fantastic, and yet again highlighted the talents and abilities of our amazing students.

“The theme of Movies provided all kinds of opportunities for the students to be creative, and they responded with some really memorable performances, and striking works of art.

“As always, the sheer talent and the creativity of the students meant the judges had a very difficult job is selecting winners.

“I would like to congratulate Coventry for winning, and thank all of our dedicated staff who worked so hard to help the students turn their creative ideas into reality.”

Thanks to Sutton Live for the wording.