THE winners of the seventh Secondary Schools Drama Festival were honoured last Friday at a special ceremony convened by the Ministry of Education’s Unit of Allied Arts at the Theatre Guild Playhouse, in Kingston. According to a release from the ministry, the lively occasion was attended by senior education officials, teachers and students from several schools in the city. The champions, North Georgetown Secondary, Ascension Secondary and St. Rose’s High school delighted the gathering with a captivating show on the pieces that made them winners. 
The keenly-contested competition was divided into four categories, namely, ‘Category A’, which looks at violence in school; ‘Category B’,which plays on any theme; ‘Category C’, which looked at Dance Drama; and ‘Category D’, Storytelling. 
North Georgetown Secondary copped the top spot in Category A with a piece entitled, ‘Bamboo Alley’, while Ascension Secondary’s ‘Is Who In Charge Ah We Life’ secured the top spot in Category B, and St. Rose’s High took away the winner’s trophy in Category C with ‘Hard Knock Life’, the release stated.
Shannon Beaton of Queen’s College was awarded the top prize in Category D of the competition.
Drama Coordinator of the Unit of Allied Arts, Lorraine Barker-King, praised the creativity of the directors of the schools that participated in the production, particularly Beverley Cyrus, Kelton Jennings and Jean Kingston of the winning schools.
She pointed out that the expressive arts undeniably play an important role in the moulding of an individual, and noted that the Ministry of Education has created the avenue for its inclusion and promotion in schools.
According to Barker-King, when the Caribbean Drama Association in 1988 invited Guyana to participate in the Third Caribbean Secondary School Drama Festival, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was immediately seized.
The Secondary School Drama Festival was staged, and the best performers were selected to represent Guyana at that forum. The local biennial festival continues to produce the school that represents Guyana at the regional festival, Barker-King said.
In 1998 and 2000, Abram Zuil Secondary School of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam) represented Guyana with their plays, ‘Sea Village’ and ‘Massacuraman’. Annandale Secondary had the honour in 2002 with ‘Gold Teeth’; Sophia Special School in 2004 with ‘I Should Have Known’; North Georgetown Secondary in 2006 with ‘Anansi’s Way’; and Sophia Special School, again in 2008, also with ‘Anansi’s Way’.  
The local festival also aims at building more interest in drama at the school level, forming community alliances, addressing social issues, and exposing students to the elements of staging a production. 
In keeping with this thrust, Barker-King is calling on more schools to participate in the festival, and for the resuscitation of drama clubs in schools.
Acting Deputy Chief Education Officer (Secondary), Doodmattie Singh, in a brief presentation, stressed that the future of a country depends on the creative minds of its people, and that drama can be an avenue to harness their talents.
Singh, alluding to some of the many benefits of drama in schools, said that the discipline helps students to be articulate and confident in their speech, develop conflict resolution skills, and to understand people in new ways.