Khalid from Year 5, best overall winner at this year's Wendell Park primary school W Factor show
Pupils from Wendell Park primary school sang, danced and dazzled judges during their annual talent show on Friday 17 March.
Called the ‘W Factor’, this year’s production saw 22 pupils from all ages perform superb musical routines in front of a packed hall of parents, pupils, colleagues and friends. While four judges looked on and encouraged the acts after each performance.
It marked a welcome return to the wildly popular night after Covid had prevented the school from holding the event since 2019.
At the end of the night, four coveted trophies were awarded at the Cobbold Road school:
Best overall: Khalid, from Year 5, who won the best overall prize for singing and playing guitar for the song Hold Back the River by James Bay.
Best group: Aissatou and Billie, from Year 6, who sang and danced to song This is Me from the soundtrack to film, The Greatest Showman.
Best original: Seada, Erza and Nour, from Year 6, who danced to the track Calm Down by Rema.
Best solo: Myan, from Year 4, who danced and sang to the tune Boom by X Ambassadors.
Rosie Peters, Co-Head of the school, said: “It was such a wonderful evening. There was something for everyone – all the participants were super stars.”
See all the pictures from the event on our Flickr photo gallery.
Masters of the ceremony
Returning to the stage again as compere was Wendell Park father Matthew Price, former BBC Radio 4 Today and CBBC Newsround presenter.
He was joined by the school’s head girl and head boy, Eva Tisdall and Radwan Mohammed, as they shone a spotlight on the school’s talented pupils.
The judges were given the difficult task of choosing a winner. The judges disappeared for 15 minutes at the end of the performances to deliberate. “That wasn’t easy,” one of the judges, quipped.
The judges on the night were:
- singer and songwriter Tiwa King (who also performed her own version of Lovely Day by Bill Withers on the night)
- Ghost Dance Troupe academy founder Tyrell Paisley
- Rosina Permaul (Shepherds Bush resident and former Wendell Park teacher), and
- Nicole Latham (the school’s music teacher).
Honoured
The school community also took the opportunity to honour Co-Head Elena Hough, who is set to depart this summer after 17 years of service to become the headteacher of a primary school in Surrey.
Meanwhile, long-standing school caretaker Tony Bailey, who has lived on the site and worked at the school for 24 years, was also honoured. “All good things come to an end,” he said to a heartfelt standing ovation from the crowd.
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