Jull Medal 2025
The end of November saw our annual Jull Medal competition, a much-loved school event and the only one of its kind in the Music Department. Ten Junior competitors and ten Senior competitors took to the stage, and we were delighted to welcome our adjudicators, musician duo Cheryl Forbes and Gordon Cree. Ms Forbes is a mezzo soprano and Mr Cree is a trained pianist and singer, and the pair have a long history of performing together.
Across both sections there was an impressive variety of music. Some pupils were stepping into the competition for the first time, including Kalman M, who opened the Junior section with ‘Walking in the Air’ from ‘The Snowman’. Bella also made a strong impression with a beautiful performance of ‘A La Nanita Nana’ sung in traditional Spanish. Evie H performed ‘The Man That Came Back’ by Jessie Murph while accompanying herself on piano, and Nikitah R brought an amazing contrast between the Sanskrit song ‘Sangachadwam/Anondoloke’, performed with the help of a synthesiser, and ‘There Are Worse Things I Could Do’ from ‘Grease’.
There were also wonderfully theatrical moments. Archie B fully embraced the comic of Aldolpho in ‘I Am Aldolpho’, while others chose contemporary or classical pieces, including an upbeat and very musical ‘Mother Knows Best’ by Lana M. Arabella H gave two stunning performances in French, which made a wonderful impression. The breadth of styles and the standard across the evening were noted by the adjudicators.
After a short break, Ms Forbes and Mr Cree returned to share generous and detailed feedback before announcing the results. Ernest was named the Junior winner, with Kalman Commended and Issy M, Bella H and Jonathan S Highly Commended. In the Senior section, Shreyas D took home the Jull Medal with beautiful performances of ‘Auf dem See’ by Schubert and ‘The Man I Used to Be’ by Wildhorn. Arabella, Archie and Nikitah were all Highly Commended for their performances.
It was a fantastic evening of music, and we congratulate every pupil who took part. Our thanks go to our dedicated Music Department; their expertise and commitment are a real credit to the school. We are also grateful to Ms Forbes and Mr Cree for their insight and encouragement throughout the event.
