Sweeping the Field at Eisteddfod 2023

For the first time, the school took home the Best Overall School title in the Choirs Division.

According to Director of Performing Arts Owen Clarke, this fiercely coveted award is known to attract a particularly strong base of competitors.

He says that, under the steady guidance of our Head of Choirs Mr Andrew Lange and Head of Vocal Studies Mrs Gaynor Donnelly, All Saints has been inching closer and closer to an overall win each year until finally edging out the stalwarts in 2023.

"All music sections of the GCE are hotly contested, but the Choral section in particular has been in the grip of a small number of schools who have choirs as the epicentre of their music program," says Mr Clarke.

"However, this year, after a decade of development and progression from the grassroots (our young singers in Junior School) All Saints has broken this strangle hold. This is a huge achievement."

All Saints was also once again named Best Overall School within the Bands and Orchestras division, which is another feather in the cap for Mr Clarke, Head of Strings Nigel Bardsley and Big Band Conductor Scott Mason who spearheaded those efforts.

'This proves that our school has a profound depth, a well-rounded and balanced music program, as all three of our ensemble disciplines - Strings, Bands and Choirs - performed exceptionally well in the Junior, Middle and Senior categories of the GCE," Mr Clarke adds.

Eisteddfod by the Numbers

Of the 34 ensembles, bands, choirs and string orchestras that represented All Saints in the GCE, 23 of them placed in the top three of their division. These placegetters are as follows.