Oscars-style house film competition at Newbury’s St Bart’s School

A Newbury school rolled out the red carpet for its second Oscars-style house film competition.

On Thursday, around 200 parents, teachers, pupils and industry professionals arrived at St Bartholomew’s School for a special evening of films, speeches and popcorn organised by the film and media department.

More than 90 pupils have immersed themselves in

the world of filmmaking since September, writing, filming and editing their own short films from scratch both at school and on location.

House teams were challenged to produce a Junior and Senior entry, with Year 10 students supporting Years 7 to 9 and Year 13 leading a team of Year 11 to 12s.

Curnock house came out on top in the Junior category, with Davis as runner-up, while it was Davis house who stole the show in the Senior category, this time with Curnock as runner-up.

Curnock were then crowned overall champions.

The winners and runners-up will see their films screened at Newbury Vue Cinema on February 27.

Films were judged by St Bart’s alumni and studio production manager at Pinewood Group Reece Broughton and Holly Choules, a multi-skilled operator at Zest4.tv.

The winning Year 10 and Year 13 house captains will also receive a three-month free subscription to the art-house streaming platform MUBI.

Pupils said they wanted to thank teachers Ian Keetch, Glyn Evans and Jonny Roberts for their technical support and for organising a wonderful evening.

Last year, Davis was crowned the first house film champions.