Pictured: year 12 student william k WAS nominated FOR inclusion in nesa’s onstage showcase

As our Year 11 actors prepare for the staging of ‘The 39 Steps’ this week, congratulations to our recent HSC Year 12 cohort for their outstanding results.  

Ninety percent of the 2024 HSC Drama cohort received at least one nomination for OnSTAGE, NESA’s annual showcase of the best HSC Drama work from around the State. A remarkable 50 percent of the cohort received nominations for both their Individual Project and Group Performance. Particular congratulations go to Harvey C, Daniel D, Angus F, Thomas G, Benjamin S and Darcy Y whose Group Performance, Tanked, has been selected for the 2025 OnSTAGE Exhibition.  

‘The 2024 Year 12 cohort has worked particularly hard, and these NESA nominations and selections are a testament to their creativity and collaboration,’ says the Head of Drama, Mr Paul Eastway.  

‘It is also due, in no small part, to the dedication and expertise of their teachers, Ms James and Mr Kennard.’  

Newington teachers have long understood the crucial role the Creative Arts play, not only in the development of social and emotional intelligence, but also in improving academic outcomes across all subjects.  

‘It is no coincidence,’ continues Mr Eastway, ‘that Estonia, which came first in Europe in the latest Program for International School Assessment (PISA) rankings, has a curriculum with a strong focus on social and personal skills, as well as a deliberately sustained engagement with the Arts throughout secondary school.’  

Newington College has a strong and dynamic drama program across our preparatory and senior schools. Each year the Senior School Drama Department produces four plays: a Year 8 Play, a Year 9/10 Play, a Senior Play and a Year 11 Student-Directed Play. It also runs a weekly Drama Club for Year 7, Impro for Years 8-12, and a Theatre Club for senior students that frequents Sydney theatre performances by Bell Shakespeare and The Sydney Theatre Company. The College has excelled for many years in the national TheatreSports School Challenge, winning the improv Interschool Year 7 to 12 Challenge at the Enmore Theatre in June.  

At our Wyvern and Linfield Preparatory Schools, Drama is also prioritised. Wyvern Year 5 and 6 students perform in a musical every second year and both Preps offer co-curricular weekly drama classes.  

Mr Eastway says the life benefits of drama and being part of a school production are universal. 

‘Being part of a production is a peak event in the life of a student and one that I encourage every Newington student to experience, at least once during their school life.  

‘Ask anyone who has performed in a play or musical at school and they will tell you it was a highlight of their school life.’