“We are so pleased with our success in winning this competition and cannot wait to get started on auditions and rehearsals.” Sarah Owens, Head of Expressive and Performing Arts at Heworth Grange School.

Heworth Grange School has won a competition with Musical Theatre International to perform Frozen this summer free of charge. Representing the North East, Heworth will be one of the first schools in the UK to put on Frozen as a school performance.

Students at Heworth Grange School in Gateshead, will not be letting it go: they are going to be among the first students in the UK to perform Disney’s famous show Frozen.

The school has won a competition to have the rights - for free - to perform Frozen later this school year. The school entered the competition in July with MTI (Musical Theatre International) to win the rights to be one of the first schools in the UK to perform the popular musical.

Out of hundreds of applications, just 11 schools - one for each region of the UK - have been given the rights to perform the first-ever school productions of Frozen anywhere in Europe.

Heworth Grange, representing the North East, and other winning schools, were congratulated by a special video message from one of the stars of the West End production of Frozen, Craig Gallivan, who plays Olaf.

With the school celebrating the Heworth Grange Youth Theatre's 50th anniversary next year, performing a musical like Frozen is a dream come true for the students, staff and community.

“This is a fantastic opportunity for Heworth Grange School and I am delighted that we have won this competition." Neil Rodgers, Headteacher at Heworth Grange School

The school had to fill out a complex application form, with a wide range of questions, asking them to describe their unique vision of Frozen and how they will use the theme "Love is an Open Door" as an opportunity to strengthen their school community, provide outreach to underrepresented groups and support inclusive and diverse theatre for all.

The school’s response was that winning the competition would not just be about the performance but about the journey, giving pupils the chance to excel, thrive and shine in a department that cares about them as individuals, not just about the results.

“This is why pupils continue to come back to Heworth - as volunteers, staff members, audience members - and parents,” they told the competition judges. “They're not just returning to their former secondary school; they're coming home and our door is always open.”

With strong answers like this, it’s no wonder that Heworth Grange was selected to be one of the first 11 schools to perform Frozen!

Disney and MTI are planning to document and publicise the students’ progress throughout the year in the national press, as they prepare for their special school performance later in the academic year.

Ryan Macaulay, Director of Operations, Education & Development for MTI’s London office, said: “We were overwhelmed by the positive response to the United Kingdom of Frozen competition, with hundreds of schools submitting applications to take part.

“The decision-making process was incredibly difficult, but we are excited to see the eleven selected schools mount their productions over the course of the coming months.”

Erin Anderson, Associate Assistant Headteacher at Heworth Grange School, said: “It is with great pride that we are announcing this news and it is a day we will not forget.