Students at King William’s College recently took part in the annual House Drama Festival and raised ?650 for the Isle of Man Adoption Service. The event featured acts from students of all levels and tickets were sold in advance of the show and on the night to benefit the chosen charity. The Isle of Man Adoption Service is a locally registered charitable organisation, which seeks to match children in care with suitably approved family or other appropriate carers and to place them permanently for adoption and thereafter provide after placement facilities and services where required. A large proportion of these costs are met by central government, but any shortfall has to be raised by them externally. This is something they are happy to do to give the children and their carers additional facilities and opportunities such as the theatre and drama workshops and life story work with all parties influential in the child’s early years. Chris Bateson of the Isle of Man Adoption Service commented on the College’s donation: “This is an extremely generous decision and we are highly appreciative of the gesture. On behalf of the Board, staff and all those touched by adoption, we would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to King William’s College. The House Drama Festival is always a great event and this year’s was no different with local talent from all age groups. I really enjoyed it.” Performances at the House Drama Festival included Colbourne’s ‘The Addams Family’, Walters’ ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ and Dickson’s ‘Ghostwriter’. The competition was judged by Louisa Shaw of Tring Park School for the Performing Arts, a vocal performance coach with 17 years experience performing in West End musicals. Louisa commended all of the students for excellent diction and voice production throughout the performance. Awards for top performances went to Laura Piggott (as the maid in ‘Ghostwriter’), Will Quinn (as the Ghost in ‘Ghostwriter’), Harriet Nuttall (as Willy Wonka in ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’) and Colbourne’s ‘The Addams Family’ for Technical Excellence and ‘Wow’ Factor. The Tatton Shield for the overall winner was awarded to a jubilant Dickson House. Barbara Van Rhyn, Head of English at King William’s College, added: “The evening was a great success. There is an electric spirit in this event each year and the students get a chance to show off their amazing individual talents. We decided to nominate the Isle of Man Adoption Service as our chosen charity for this event because it is an organisation that is close to our hearts. Children are important in all walks of life and it is absolutely vital that they find a nurturing home so they can flourish... Our thanks go to Louisa for judging the competition and of course to the students for dazzling us with their direction and performance. - ends -