Solomon recently took his Grade 4 Speech and Drama exam and achieved the high mark of 94/100, as well as very positive feedback from the examiner.

Since Solomon was a toddler he has loved to watch the news (he loves to see the way the news presenters talk), and he was saddened about recent global news. For his Speech & Drama exam Solomon wanted to perform a speech that included themes of peace, love and diversity, and he listended to podcasts and YouTube videos until he found a speech called “This is who you are” by Richard Williams, also known as Prince EA. Not only did he receive very positive feedback from the examiner: “Outstanding communication of the ideas through the text, thoroughly powered argument, ….” but he also made his family very proud when he performed this speech at a family event. We were in tears and emotionally moved by Solomon’s sincerity and maturity.

Apart from enjoying watching the news, Solomon loves everything about William Shakespeare. For the exam this year, he tried something new with more challenges. He chose the play from “King Henry IV, Part 1, Act 5 Sc 2, Earl of Worcester”. He did some research about the background, characters and the emotional expressions. He also watched some of the stage performances of William Shakespeare’s plays to improve his facial expressions, tone of voice and body gesture. He practiced every day after school in front of the mirror to make sure he covered every detail of the character. He received another very positive comment from the examiner: “Excellent emotional connection and drive through the complex text. There was a real power at the heart of this...” The examiner also told the teacher that he could not believe that Solomon was 9 years old and able to handle William Shakespeare!

We don’t think Solomon realises quite how talented he is and for him to be appeared in the Trinity Class of 2024 Hall of Fame it would be a huge and wonderful recognition of his talent and the hard work that he has put into his speech performances.

He is now progressing to Grade 5 Speech and Drama in Trinity College London Champion Centre, Shelley Lowry Speech and Drama School in Northern Ireland.