End-of-year celebrations and prize-giving ceremonies 2026
As another academic year comes to a close, we celebrate our White Lodge and Upper School students’ extraordinary achievements over the past year at The Royal Ballet School.
Year 11 Celebration
Friday 26 June marked one of the highlights of the School calendar for our White Lodge Year 11 students: their graduation from the Development Programme.
The event featured a beautiful performance in the Margot Fonteyn Theatre followed by addresses from Artistic Director Iain Mackay and special guest and Guest Principal Coach of The Royal Ballet, Edward Watson. Head Girl Eva and Head Boy Marios also gave a speech to their classmates.
As per tradition, students were presented with their certificates on the symbolic White Lodge steps, dressed in beautiful gowns and suits, before celebrating with family, friends, and supporters on the White Lodge lawn.
Congratulations to our Year 11 students! We wish them every success in the future, wherever their paths may lead. A special thank you to parents and guardians for the encouragement, support and guidance you have provided these students over the years.
Celebrating artistic, academic and community excellence: our 2026 prize winners
Earlier this month, White Lodge and Upper School students held their final assemblies of the 2025-26 academic year ahead of our final Summer Performance at the Royal Opera House on 18 July.
The assemblies, held in the Linden and Margot Fonteyn Studio Theatres, were an opportunity for the School to come together and acknowledge the artistic, academic and community achievements of the students this year.
Read more about our 2026 award recipients below.
White Lodge prize winners
The April Olrich Award for Outstanding Performances: Jolie, Year 11
This award is given to the dancer who has that extra ‘special something’ – that inner magic and spark that fires the audience. The dancer who uses the eyes to communicate with the audience, the dancer who comes alive on stage. This award is kindly supported by Nigel Pegram.
The Frank Freeman Summer School Scholarship: Mathias, Year 11
This award is kindly supported by Malcolm Stewart.
The Valerie Adams Award for Exceptional Musicality: Juju, Year 11
Our alumna Valerie Adams generously left a gift in her will, which provides this award in perpetuity.
Audrey Harman History of Ballet prize: Lucinda, Year 8
This student has consistently shown a lively interest in the history of ballet over the last two years.
Artistic Prizes for Student Progress and Endeavour:
Year 7: Catherine and Charlie
Year 8: Rosie and Ben
Year 9: Matilda and Ned
Year 10: Lois and Ianis
Year 11: Julia and Ozora.
Upper School prize winners
The Ballet Association Award: Lilly, Isabella and Matthis, 2nd Year
The Ballet Association kindly offer three bursaries to support international students towards the costs of their training during the Summer Intensive programme. These bursaries are given in recognition of the contribution to dance of Sylvia Tyler and Joan Seaman, through their founding and development of the Association.
The Gailene Stock Award: Wendel Vieira Teles Dos Santos, Pre-professional Year
This award is given in memory of Gailene Stock, former Director of The Royal Ballet School and Principal dancer with The Australian Ballet. It is generously supported by the late Mr David Norman, former Chairman of the School. The award is given in recognition of the exceptional progress made during training throughout this last year.
The Gail Graves Prize for Academic Excellence: Samantha Striplin, Pre-professional Year
This prize is presented in honour of former Senior Academic Teacher and Head of the Degree Programme, Gail Graves. Gail created and introduced the Foundation Degree and BA in Classical Ballet and Dance Performance to the School in 2017. The prize celebrates Gail’s passion for the holistic education of dancers and her belief that academic learning directly supports studio-based practice, helping to create thinking dancers, fully prepared for the challenges of a dance career.
Artistic Prizes for Student Progress and Endeavour:
1st Year: Gia and Santino
2nd Year: Hina and Keenan
Pre-professional Year: Helle Flood and Noah Campbell.
Catja Christensen is the Marketing and Communications Executive at The Royal Ballet School and joined the School in 2025. She enjoys interviewing students, staff and guest artists for news stories and crafting eye-catching newsletters.
