Two Lamont pupils have successfully been named as Regional Finalists in the 2026 National Youth Monologues Competition.

16-year-old Serafina has been named Regional Finalist (North of England) and will perform her piece in May.

Ten-year-old Timmy has been chosen for the KS2 Contemporary Mononolue section as a Southern Regional Finalist. He will be performing his piece live at the end of May.

There were 4,000 entries received and organisers say that the quality of performance was exceptionally high. If successful, they will go on to perform in the National Finals in June.

Congratulations to 8-year-old August! At his first-ever festival he was awarded two 1^st places.  

August not only won his solo Act (10 years and under) but he scooped first place in the Shakespeare class (15 years and under). What a festival debut! 

August was asked to perform each piece in the two Festival Showcases.  

Well done, August.

Congratulations to pupils taking part in the 2026 Alderley Edge Festival at what turned out to be a lovely few days in the Sunshine!

Teaching commitments often keep me away from seeing pupils perform on the day – so it was a delight to be in the audience to support everyone.

Sisters 10-year-old Maryam and eight-year-old Zaynab did exceptionally well. Maryam won all her classes and Zaynab won all her classes bar one – where she received a second. The girls were asked to perform their duologue at the Gala Show and were presented with a trophy for achieving the best results in the whole of the festival.

Sisters Vidusshi and Sharuhi both won their Prose Reading and Verse classes.

10-year-old Clara came second in both her Verse Speaking and her Prose Reading. 

Huge congratulations to 16-year-old Serafina and 14-year-old Freddie on their fantastic news of being accepted as members of the prestigious National Youth Theatre.  

Both pupils joined Lamont Drama when they were 5-years-old and have received Distinction for all their LAMDA exams. They have also enjoyed years of success at Drama Festivals performing Acting, Verse Speaking and Prose Reading.  

Said Mrs Lamont: “Serafina and Freddie have been with me a long time so I’m absolutely delighted to hear their wonderful news. I am super proud of them both and I know they will take full advantage of attending the residential 2-week NYT course this Summer”.  

“I have had many many pupils who have successfully auditioned for the NYT and without exception, they all got so much out of the experience and used it as a stepping stone to achieve their aspirational goals in life. Well done to both!” 

NYT had over 6000 young people auditioning this year and Serafina and Freddie were in the lucky 450 who were accepted. Freddie takes his Grade 8 Speaking of Verse and Prose in July. Serafina is taking her LAMDA Grade 8 acting. 

As well as NYT, Serafina is also attending a 2-week Summer School at RADA . She has recently played Helena in A Midsummer Night’s Dream with the SDC Youth where she nominated and won a NODA Award for the best leading female character in a Youth Drama in the North West District 6. She has also just finished playing Morticia in The Addams Family for MTGS and is currently playing Rosie in The Unfriend for The Little Theatre in Formby.   

Over the years, Serafina has been in many productions for SONG, SDC Youth and ACT including Lavender in Matilda, Jemima in Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, Ugly Duckling in Shrek. She has been awarded a scholarship to attend the Liverpool Theatre School on the 3 Year Musical Theatre Course starting this September. She has also just been named as a Regional Finalist (North of England) in the National Youth Monologues Competition. There were 4,000 entries received and organisers say that the quality of performance was exceptionally high. If successful, she will go on to take part in the National Final in June.

Freddie recently played Macduff’s son in Macbeth at the Liverpool Depot with Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma. He played a Trixie Pollitt in Cat On A Hot Tin Roof at the Liverpool Playhouse and last month he played the lead of Seymour in his school production of Little Shop of horrors. 

Congratulations to talented gymnast and Lamont Drama pupil, 14-year-old Isla Gie who recently competed at the Artistic British Championships at the Liverpool Arena.

Organised by British Gymnastics, the governing body for gymnastics in the UK, the annual event is for elite-level gymnasts who have to qualify to take part. It is used as a selection event for the men’s and women’s national team.

On the day, Isla got her best-ever score on floor in front of the very supportive arena audience. It was a joyous event which celebrated every gymnast taking part. Please click below to see Isla in action.

An added bonus was Isla featuring in the event’s programme – highlighting her achievements as a successful actor on stage and screen.

You can see the full feature from British Gymnastics here

You can see a further feature from Olympics.com here

Such a talent in the gym and as an actor. Well done Isla!

What a fantastic start to 2026 for Lamont Drama pupils taking part in Drama Festivals around the UK.  

Lytham Performing Arts Festival, billed as ‘the friendly festival where everyone is a star’, started in 1901 and prides itself on valuing every entrant. It’s a wonderful showcase encouraging young performers in music and drama to perform in public. 

Doing just that from Lamont Drama were 12-year-old Joseph, 10-year-old Maryam and eight-year-old Zaynab.  

Joseph was awarded 1st place for favourite poem aged 10-13 and 2nd for his comedy poem or prose aged 12-14. 

Sisters Maryam and Zaynab won the 11 and under duologue class.

Maryam was awarded a further 1st and three 2nds.

Zaynab was awarded a further three 1sts, one 2nd and one 3rd for verse speaking, prose reading and acting.  

Tunbridge Wells Arts Festival provides a supportive platform for performers of all ages who love to perform. Entrants come from across Kent and further afield to take part in March each year.  

Lamont pupil nine-year-old Kiki received 1^st for verse speaking, 1^st for prose reading and 2^nd for her solo act.

She received her trophies from the mayor, cheered on by her little sister who wanted to share the moment. Her 4-year-old sister Jessie has just started having lessons with Mrs. Lamont – so I’m sure we will also see her performing at Tunbridge Wells very soon! 

 Caulsden and Purley Festival in Surrey was also held in March.  

Laksmi (12) and her sister Isla (10) won the Duologue section Years 7 & 8. 

Laksmi got a hat-trick of 1sts for her verse speaking and Prose Speaking. She was also awarded the Buxton Memorial Cup for prose reading. Isla also shone being awarded 1st for her own choice poem, 3rd for her set poem and 1st for her prose reading.  

Ethan (13) and sister Esme (11) were 3rd in their duologue class Year 9 and under.  

Well Done! Great ambassadors for Lamont Drama and I’m proud of you all.

EXAM RESULTS AUTUMN 2025 

All 14 students gained the top mark of Distinction with 10 gaining 90+. Trophies for the top marks went to: Zaynab – 100! Maryam – 98 Shanuksai 96 – well done! 

Introductory 2 

Ayyub 

Entry 

Shanuksai, Annabelle 

Grade 2 

Zaynab, Clara 

Grade 4 

Beracha, Maryam, 

Grade 5 

Felicity 

Grade 6 

Hallela, Luxsai 

Grade 7 

Joseph, Erin 

Grade 8 

Taron, Olivia 

Congratulations to you all! 

13 year-old Ethan was invited to perform in the gala showcase in the Reigate and Redhill Festival earlier this year.   

He was awarded best performer in the Speech and Drama sections of the Festival.  He won a trophy and was invited to take part in a special master class with West End actor Matt Burns who is currently playing Benjamin Button in the West End. 

Last Sunday Ethan had an hour-long workshop with Matt, which included script work, stage acting and character progressions.  The exciting day was topped off with a backstage tour. 

Way to go Ethan! What an opportunity and you took it with both hands! Very well done!  

Fourteen-year-old Isla Gie from London is starring in the new TV series NCIS: Tony and Ziva which premiered on Paramount Plus on September 4, 2025.  

The 10-part series, which runs on Paramount Plus until October 23, stars original NCIS favourites Michael Weatherley as Tony DiNozzo and Cote de Pablo as Ziva David.  

Isla, a pupil at Lamont Drama School, joins them as their daughter Tali. 

This spin-off of the long running NCIS is set in Europe where Tony reunites with his former colleague Ziva who had previously been thought to be dead. It’s an action-filled romantic drama in which Tony & Ziva are forced back into action when a new threat puts everything they love on the line – including their beloved daughter Tali (Isla Gie).  

Says Isla: “Playing Tali was a great experience. I was able to combine Ziva’s feistiness with Tony’s playfulness. I have a lot of action scenes and really enjoyed the off-screen fight training that I did”.   

Isla’s role in NCIS: Tony and Ziva is just the latest in a long line of successes. She can also be seen as Skirlet in the third season of sci-fi epic Foundation which is out now on Apple TV with the final episode releasing on 12 September. Earlier this year Isla starred as Jason Statham’s daughter Merry Cade in the action feature film A Working Man. This had a successful theatrical release worldwide and is now streaming on Amazon Prime. 

Isla’s credits include: 
Television: 
Foundation (Series 3) on Apple TV 
The Sandman, Netflix 
Mammals, Amazon Prime (playing James Corden’s daughter)  
The Outlaws (Series 1 and 2) BBC (playing Christopher Walken’s grand-daughter 
Slow Horses, Apple TV 
Film: 
A Working Man, written by Sylvester Stallone and starring Jason Statham, on Amazon MGM Studios. Isla plays Jason Statham’s daughter. 
Legend Has It,  Straightwire Entertainment 
Villain, Cowboy Funfair Productions 
Daddy’s Girl, Cardel Entertainment 
Stage: 
Matilda in Matilda the Musical in the Cambridge Theatre, West End 
Cindy-Lou Who in How the Grinch Stole Christmas, UK Tour 
Little Cosette, UK and Ireland Tour of Cameron Mackintosh’s Les Miserables.  

In addition to acting, Isla is an elite gymnast who has been in the Great Britain squad and has competed in the British Championships. She is also a world champion dancer winning gold medal at this year’s Dance World Cup in Spain.   

Isla’s character Tali is strongly featured in : 

Episode 6 : TX date September 24, 2025  – when the safe house Tali is staying in comes under threat.

Episode 9 – TX date : October 16, 2025 

Episode 10 – TX date October 23, 2025 

Well Done Isla!

Congratulations to all Lamont pupils for their excellent results in their LAMDA examinations – Summer 2025

23 took the exams – 22 Distinctions and 1 high Merit – 15 pupils gained 90+

Trophies were awarded to Zaynab Junior Grade trophy (98 marks), Astrid Middle Grade Trophy 98 (marks), Ethan Senior Grade Trophy (97 marks).

The following pupils were successful :

Introductory 1 Ayyub

Introductory 3 Shanuksai

Grade 1 Zaynab

Grade 2 Isla and Sia

Grade 3 Maryam, Shuddhi, Kiki and Mishka

Grade 4 Timmy, Astrid and Sethumi

Grade 5 Thanushka, Luxsai, Laksmi, Ragavee and Esme

Grade 6 Ethan and Keshaav

Grade 7 Gadowl and Lois

Grade 8 Poppy and Amelie