Pupils from Wendell Park primary school returned to their Shepherds Bush school on Friday night (8 March) to show off their best moves and grooves.
Called the ‘W Factor’, this year’s production saw almost 30 pupils of all ages perform superb musical routines in front of a packed hall of parents, teachers and friends.
It’s the 18th year that the Cobbold Road school has staged the popular event. And returning to the stage as compere like recent years was former BBC Radio 4 Today and CBBC Newsround presenter, Matthew Price.
He was joined by the school’s head girl and head boy, Remy Robinson and Toby Le Foe from Year 6, as they shone a spotlight on the school’s talented pupils.
Sitting to the side of the stage, the judges looked on. Following a tough deliberation at the end, they awarded the four coveted trophies to winners in the following categories:
Best overall: Dior, Yaqub, Jabril and Connor donned their jean jackets, white t-shirts and headsets to convincingly lip-sync their way through a medley of boy band favourites, such as “I Want it That Way” by the Backstreet Boys.
Best group: Adam, Matteo, Kian, Anna, Conan, Andre and Joshua played a rousing rendition of the song “Seven Nation Army” by The White Stripes.
Best individual: Hannah for a stunning gymnastic routine set to music.
Most original: Basma, Lamis and Basma singing popular Arabic songs.
Rosie Peters, the Head of School, said:
The W Factor is always a special night at Wendell and our pupils truly showed that their practise paid off. The acts were incredible. Thank you to all the participants, teachers, parents and friends that helped make it a success.
“As always, the range of acts was immense - from singing and dancing to comedy and instrumentalists. The judges must have had a very tough time deciding upon the winning acts, as all were simply incredible. The crowd participation was off the scale and the children on stage had the audience eating out of their hands.”
The judges on the night were:
- singer and songwriter Tiwa King who also runs therapeutic music workshops for children with special needs. She performed a song dedicated to all the mothers in the audience, in honour of International Women’s Day
- Omar Elbarkaoui – Rock Steady music school leader who is now teaching rock sessions at Wendell Park
- Rosina Permaul – Shepherds Bush resident and former Wendell Park teacher
- Haley Kwai – Royal College of Music student who plays harp, piano and guitar. She’s been working at Wendell Park as part of her degree course.
