On Friday 7th June, in Grimsby Auditorium Hazelwood Integrated College won the title of UK Champions in the Be Your Best Rock Challenge competition.
Rock Challenge is a worldwide event in countries such as Australia, Japan, America and Europe and is the UK’s most popular youth culture event. The Rock Challenge is a 100% drug and alcohol free experience aimed at 11-18 year olds where young people are encouraged to be their best.
Not only did Hazelwood win 1st place but they were also awarded 8 special awards for Best Set Design, Best Stage Crew, Best Soundtrack, Student Leadership, PR and Media, School Community Support, Spirit of Rock Challenge and Drug Awareness.
Kathryn Sheppard, Director of Rock Challenge at Hazelwood said, ‘This is an absolute dream come true for the students, staff and parents of HazelwoodCollege. It is a huge achievement for the school with only being involved in the competition for 2 years. They deserve this title for their passion, commitment and dedication over the past 8 months. I am incredibly proud to be in charge of such a wonderful team. They now graduate to Premier League Finals next year which is a huge honour.’
Mrs Kathleen Gormley, Principal of Hazelwood Integrated College added that, ‘The 90 students and 12 staff involved in Rock Challenge have brought great credit to the College as well as Northern Ireland. To come 1st place in the UK in the midst of Colleges from Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Hull, Nottinghamshire and Cumbria is an outstanding achievement. Rock Challenge values are about performance as well as a healthy lifestyle and the participants are great role models for children in Belfast. The College wish to thank the parents for their commitment and I am sure they share in the pride we all feel today.’
Tim MacFarlane from the Be Your Best Foundation said ‘Hazelwood really set the stage alight on Friday with their stunning and spectacular performance and we were delighted to see such as a deserved school win what was a really strong event. The judges and audience were blown away by the performance – all of the elements came together to create a spellbinding production which would not have looked out of place on a West End stage.
Hazelwood are wonderful ambassadors for not only Rock Challenge®, but for the whole of Northern Ireland; they truly embody the spirit of the event; despite their long journey they always arrive at the venue with smiles on their faces and passion and enthusiasm in their hearts supporting the other teams and making the day better for everyone involved, which is why they so rightly won the Spirit of Rock Challenge® award on the night – one of the event’s most coveted prizes. We’re delighted for their success and can’t wait to see what the future brings for then”
The team have been practising for the past 9 months, over their holidays and a number of Saturdays. In comparison to last year’s team size we have greatly increased student numbers which means the message of Rock Challenge is spreading. The team has developed a number of qualities from the project such as a huge level of commitment, dedication, drug education, increased confidence and self esteem, enhanced skill level in the performing arts area through make up, staging and dance. It has been a whole school/community event which we are incredibly thankful for, as without their support, this project would not be possible.
Watch the winning performance here.
