Nominations for the Music & Drama Education Awards 2025 close on 16 August 2024.
The Awards celebrate the achievements of teachers, school departments, individuals, resources, organisations and charities in music and drama across the UK. Read the full list of categories here.
A number of judges for the 2025 panel have been revealed, with more to be announced in due course.
On the music side, experienced teacher, writer, speaker and singer Tolu McCarthy will be joined by music education consultant, teacher and composer Kay Charlton.
For the drama categories, director of Learning, Education & Participation at Chichester Festival Theatre, Dale Rooks, will work alongside leading drama educator, chair of the Council for Subject Associations, author and speaker Patrice Baldwin.
The co-chairs of the panel say that this year’s judges have been chosen to represent a number of areas across the music and drama education sector, including SEND, Primary, Secondary, extra-curricular and higher education.
Multi-award-winning consultant and founder of EDI consultancy firm SLS 360, Samantha Stimpson, has also been announced as a judge. ‘I am delighted to join the judging panel for the Music & Drama Education Awards 2025’, she said.
‘As a musician and music teacher, now CEO of SLS 360, I am passionate about recognising and celebrating contributions in performing arts education especially through the lens of diversity and inclusion. These awards honour the dedication and innovation of educators and organisations that inspire and nurture future talent, regardless of their background, and I look forward to evaluating the entries and celebrating their excellence at the awards event.’
Hattie Fisk, co-chair of the judging panel and editor of Drama & Theatre magazine, said: ‘I am thrilled to see such a brilliant team of experts join this year’s judging panel, with more names to be announced. I urge all members of the drama and music education sector to browse the categories and consider nominating themselves or others for these amazing awards. We want to hear from all corners of the country.’
This year, nominations will be submitted through a new form-based system, which streamlines the submission and selection process.
The 2025 awards ceremony will be held at the Royal National Hotel in London. The host, and the rest of the expert judging panel, will be announced closer to the event.
To find out more about each category and submit a nomination online, visit musicdramaedawards.com
