NWC students find success in National Youth Theatre auditions

The National Youth Theatre is a prestigious youth charity which auditions thousands of aspiring young actors every year to be a part of their competitive programme. With a mere one in ten success rate, it is highly unusual for a school to have more than one student accepted in one cohort – and yet four students from Northwood College for Girls have achieved this impressive feat this year.

This was the National Youth Theatre’s first year holding auditions within schools. They auditioned 6,000–7,000 young people and offered places to around 600–700 nationally. In order to secure their places, Ammara, Annabel, Mansi, and Rihanna, ranging from Years 10–13, took part in rigorous auditions which consisted of a 3-hour workshop, an individual monologue, direction and a final interview.

Head of Drama, Celeste McCoy, spoke about NWC’s newest recruits of the National Youth Theatre: “We would have been pleased with one success, let alone four in one year! All four students have demonstrated real commitment to the dramatic arts during their time at Northwood College for Girls, with 3 out of 4 studying Drama at GCSE and all 4 taking part in numerous school productions, most notably our recent performance of We Will Rock You.”

The programme begins in the summer holidays, where the students will undergo 2 weeks of training. The intake course will explore industry insight, voice and character work, devising and performance development skills. Thereafter they will have the opportunity to audition for productions each year up to the age of 26. These productions take place in London theatres in front of directors, casting agents and leading theatre practitioners. In addition, they will have access to professional internal and external castings, events, masterclass discounts, and access to a creative network of members on a national scale.

Head, Rebecca Brown, said: “We are so proud of Ammara, Annabel, Mansi, and Rihanna. Drama at Northwood College has a very high profile and our purpose-built Performing Arts Centre provides our students with all the necessary provisions to find inspiration through the dramatic arts. I know all four of these students will thrive as members of the NYT and I look forward to hearing about their experience in September.”