We are delighted to share some photos from the highlight’s concert last month. We saw many talented children singing, playing instruments, dancing, and performing their speech and drama pieces. They are a credit to themselves, their parents, and, of course, their teachers!
We would like to thank all who performed, who came, and everybody who volunteered on the night, and all of our volunteers who make everything run so smoothly!
Congratulations to all!
Following a selection process at the 2025 Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival, the Rotary Club sponsored two musicians to go forward to the Rotary District Final of Young Musician. This took place at Dean Close School, Cheltenham on Saturday 21st February and both of candidates gave superb performances.
Thalia Sprunt, a vocalist, sang ‘Waving Thro a Window’; ‘Two Days in College’; and ‘’She Used to be Mine’.
George Baker, a classical guitarist, played ‘Chorus N1’ by Villa Lobos; and ‘Rondo Rodeo’ by Gary Ryan.
While neither were selected to represent the District in the ongoing national competition, it was clear that both of them, along with all other participants, were delighted to perform in this high calibre event with professional adjudication. We would like to congratulate both students and to give our heartfelt thanks to the Rotary Club for being so generous and so supportive of our festival, year after year.
Respective congratulations and thank yous!
Our Music section of the festival continues to thrive, and so this year we have taken the decision to split the disciplines to allow for development and growth. Julie Williams continues to be Singing and Instrumental Chair, and Sandra Dukes continues as Classical Guitar Chair.
But, we are delighted to announce that Sarah Loddington has agreed to take on the role of Piano Chair. Welcome Sarah! And thank you Julie and Sandra.
You can meet our commitee members here.
It is with sadness that we announce our Dance section will not be a part of the 2026 festival. We would like to take this opportunity to thank Lisa Frost and Annie Ruddle for all they have done for us these past two years.
Lisa and Annie’s hard work and dedication ensured that Dance was able to bring colour, vibrancy and flamboyancy to the festival for the last couple of years and we are very sorry to see it go. Both Lisa and Annie dedicate a lot of their support to other festivals, and at the same time, Lisa also runs her own, and with such intense pressure they are unable to dedicate the time required to put on such events. We have been hugely grateful for their expertise, dedication and commitment in running Dance, and the committee would like them both to know how much their valuable input has been appreciated.
We hope Dance will run again in the future as we know how popular a section it is. Do contact us if you are interested in helping volunteer.
We are delighted to announce that this year we are introducing a new Competition: Story Writing for Years 3 & 4, Years 5 & 6 and Years 7 – 9. The judge will be Alex Evelyn who is a children’s author who lives locally, in Sherston, near Malmesbury.
Meet Alex Evelyn
Alex is the author of The Secret Wild. She has a degree in Journalism from Cardiff University and has worked in public relations, as a food writer and photographer creating content for blogs, local magazines and The Times.
Her travels often inspire her writing, from a childhood spent in Brazil to working as a cook on a dive research boat in the Red Sea. A summer stint helping on a ranch in the Big Horn mountains was inspired by her favourite childhood book The Green Grass of Wyoming. Born in Wales, she lives in the wilds of Wiltshire with her family and far too many pets. She works part time at a forest school nestled amongst the roots of the amazing trees at Westonbirt Arboretum.
This year’s Festival will take place over only single weekend: the 14th & 15th November, 2026. The venue remains the same, at the RWB Academy.
We plan to release the syllabus on the 1st April, and online entries will open on the 1st September. Do watch out for our emails and our regular updates (here or on Meta) for important deadlines.
Thank you as ever for supporting us! Do save the date!
We would be delighted if you could join us at the Highlights Concert at Royal Wootton Bassett’s Memorial Hall, on Fri 6 February 2026.
This is an evening to celebrate our entrants’ talents. Doors open from 6pm for a 6.30 start, with a 9.30pm finish. There is plenty of parking available.
You may book up to four free tickets for family members, see below, on Ticket Tailor.
We look forward to welcoming you!
Kind regards,
The Committee.
Do give yourself good time to travel to the Festival this weekend. Directions can be found here and there is plenty of parking on site. Don’t forget we run an amazing cafe and spectator tickets and programmes can be purchased on the door. Doors open at 8am!
Good luck to everyone at the festival this weekend!
From the volunteer RWB Arts Festival Committee team
Don’t forget: music uploads deadline is 14th October. You can easily do this by going into the Play and Perform online entry system and from within your account there is a button that will take you to where you need to upload your music.
Many thanks,
The RWB Arts Festival Committee.
Don’t forget: festival entries close tomorrow! Dance is already full.
Many thanks, The RWB Arts Festival Committee.
RWB Arts Festival 