On Saturday 12th March 2022, Great Baddow High School hosted its first, and what will now be annual, Inter-Primary Music Competition.

The aim of the competition was to provide a fun and friendly environment for musical students from all ages of Primary school, to compete with and be inspired by other performers. We were joined by 13 students and their parents, from five Primary schools: Meadgate Primary School, St Andrews of Hatfield Peveral, St Michaels Junior School, Larkrise Primary School and Baddow Hall Junior School. We had a lovely morning with a wide variety of music being performed from Bach to Pink!, the Beatles to Green Day, a collection of classical piano excerpts and hymnal pieces.

We awarded all participants a certificate and a Treble Clef badge for them to wear with pride on their school uniforms and remember the fantastic performances they gave to Mr Bentley (Head Judge) and Mr Herbert.

It was very difficult to judge the performances due to the variety of instruments and genres. It was very clear how much hard-work students had put in to preparing their pieces. The level of talent was extremely high and we did express our delight in everyones performances through written feedback for every student. However, the competition results were as follows:

• 1^st Place: William B (Year 5, Meadgate)
• 2^nd Place: Harry B (Year 6, St Andrews)
• 3^rd Place: Ella M (Year 6, St Michaels)

Williams performance stood out for its accuracy and complexity but most importantly for Williams own engagement with the music. William worked the grand piano exceptionally hard to express the characteristics of the piece and perform more than just the notes on the page. It was a very mature performance for such a young man full of style and passion from the performer.

"Thank you to everyone that took part and we look forward to welcoming even more participants in Spring 2023 for next year’s event." Mr Bentley (Head of Music and Head Judge)