Forget the X Factor! Talented youngsters at Wendell Park primary have the even more impressive W Factor!
Singers, musicians and dancers from the Shepherds Bush school were cheered to the rafters on Friday night last week (9 May) as they put on a concert in the middle floor hall for parents, pupils, friends and staff.
Winning the Best Individual prize was Lara, a confident performer who admitted: "Waiting to go on stage, I really started to feel nervous. But when the music started and I began my performance, it was so much fun. I'm so happy to win best solo act."
Matej scooped the award for Best Original Act, while the Best Group gong went to a Year 5 band made up of Amaal, Rihaam, Noor, Nusayma, Najwa and Annabelle. "We felt overjoyed," they said at the end. "All we could hear were our teachers and parents cheering so loudly – it was brilliant."
The prize for Best Overall Performance was won by Nawel, Samiya, Elias and Ibtisam, who said: "We're super-duper happy; we wanted to grab the trophies because we were so excited."
The acts were judged by teacher Megan Snipp, Ty Paisley from the Ghost Dance Troupe and Amayi Brown, a former Wendell student.
Compering the 19th annual event staged by the Cobbold Road school was Laura Henry Allain MBE, award-winning creator of CBeebies' JoJo and Gran Gran series, who was so bowled over by it all that she's already asked to be next year's MC!
Ayan Yusuf, assistant head at Wendell Park primary, described W Factor as "simply sensational". She was full of admiration for the acts, and thanked staff and parents for their work behind the scenes.
It's a schoolwide effort, and generates much-needed funds, as well as being one of the most fun events in the school calendar.
"Every act performed impeccably and showed real stage presence. The crowd were going wild! We had all sorts of talents on show, from singing to dancing, a rock band to a pianist. We even had choreographed martial arts performed to the Kung Fu Fighting theme from The Karate Kid."
The talents emerge young at Wendell Park, with even brave Year 2 pupils taking to the stage.
"It's events like these which remind us of how much of a community and how much of a family we are here at Wendell Park," added Miss Yusuf.
