Students at St Luke’s Church of England School in Exeter are celebrating success after coming top in the sight reading competition at the Devon Performing Arts Festival.

The annual event celebrates amateur performance, bringing together young people from across the region at South Street Baptist Church in Exeter. Students were given passages from a set text and asked to read them aloud to demonstrate their oracy, fluency and performance skills.

The team’s achievement reflects their communication skills and hard work in preparing for the competition.

Their success underlines the school’s wider commitment to oracy, reading and communication across the curriculum, with students encouraged to develop confidence in reading aloud, performance and self-expression both inside and outside the classroom.

Part of the Ted Wragg Trust, St Luke’s places a strong emphasis on helping students develop confidence and creativity through a broad range of enrichment opportunities, including regular performing arts events and the school’s annual musical production, most recently Matilda the Musical.

Mr Harrison Littler, Headteacher at St Luke’s C of E School, said:

“We are incredibly proud of our students for this fantastic achievement at the Devon Performing Arts Festival. Their hard work and dedication really shone through, and it was brilliant to see them succeed in such a challenging category.”

Moira Marder, CEO of the Ted Wragg Trust, said:

“We are delighted to see students achieving such high levels of success in events like the Devon Performing Arts Festival. Opportunities like this not only celebrate talent and hard work, but also strengthen links between our schools and the wider community, helping young people grow in confidence and aspiration.”