Battle of the Houses – Music

From the spooky-themed whole-House songs to stunning solos and entertaining ensembles, the King’s School 2025 House Music Competition was a triumph all round. After just over two weeks of rehearsals, the four Houses each had three stellar items to present on stage, in front of an audience of their peers, their teachers, their parents, and, of course, the adjudicator, Elizabeth Rogers.

The evening commenced with the four soloists — Alex, Bryer, Sophie, and John — who all wowed the audience with impressive musicality and technical skill. Sophie’s outstanding marimba playing went on to take first prize for Crick House in this tightly fought round of the competition.

The House Ensemble category followed, featuring four superb arrangements made by pupils from each House. In this round, it was Alex’s sensitive take on Frankie Valli’s classic Can’t Take My Eyes Off You that saw Whiston claim first place. Lawrence’s and Ludo’s lead vocals charmed and entertained everyone, serenely supported by instrumentalists and singers in the band – not forgetting the elegantly clad torch-bearers who lit the serenaders’ balcony scene!

Father Stephen stepped in after round two to unite all Houses in renditions of a selection of fun songs, while some stage management took place to set up for the final. Pupils from each House then took turns to flood the stage, with outfits ranging from sophisticated coordination to the terrifyingly shredded clothing of zombies. The tension was tangible, the stakes were high and all four Houses had raised their game. Was it the zombie outfits, the slick choreography, or Chester’s depiction of a damsel in distress…? Perhaps for all these reasons and more, Storrs House’s rendition of Michael Jackson’s Thriller was awarded first place, tipping the balance to make Storrs the overall winners of the night. This is the first time the House appears on the Music Competition trophy – so well done, Storrs, for changing history!

Congratulations go to all performers – you did a brilliant job and represented yourselves and your Houses so positively, with dignified competition, loyalty and high-quality entertainment. Thank you for a superb evening.