Congratulations to Amélie (Year 13) who triumphed in the vocal category of the Rotary Young Musician competition at the weekend.

She was competing via Zoom in the District 1200 round – which covers Somerset, Dorset, half of Wiltshire and Avon – and now goes forward to next month’s Regional Final – covering from Penzance up to Basingstoke and Gloucester.

Amélie had to perform for 11 minutes and chose three songs: Trip to the Library from the musical She Loves Me; the folk song Blooming Heather; and Everything I Know from another musical, In The Heights.

“I was so shocked to win,” she said. “It was all done from home and so you didn’t have the adrenaline of a live performance.

“I didn’t quite know how it would come across on screen so I was really excited to win and qualify for the next round.”

Amélie joined us for Sixth Form in 2019 from Taunton’s Heathfield School. During her first term here, she played the starring role of Deloris in our production of Sister Act, earning rave reviews.

She added: “I was thrown in at the deep end with Sister Act but it allowed me to make so many friends on my first term and, since then, everything has continued to exceed my expectations.

“The teachers have given me so much support, and Queen’s really feels like my second home and family.”

Our Director of Music, Mr Ed Jenkins, said: “I am delighted with Amélie’s success in this high-profile competition. She is a highly skilled vocalist, and this achievement is very well deserved.”

The Regional Final of the competition takes place at the end of May, with the successful performers moving on to the prestigious National Final later in the year.