UK Rock Challenge

The UK Rock Challenge was the British arm of the Rock Eisteddfod Challenge. The Rock Challenge was an anti-drug and crime-prevention event that took the form of a friendly performing arts competition for schools and colleges. Originating in Australia in the 1980s, it reached the United Kingdom after inspector Mark Pontin of Hampshire saw it in 1995 and was so impressed that he persuaded Hampshire's constabulary to form a joint venture with Tony Barron, chairman of the Hampshire Education Committee and Peter Coles, UK Rock Challenge's chief executive. Together, they introduced it in Hampshire and found joint funding to support it.

The first UK event took place in Portsmouth Guildhall in Portsmouth in 1996 and involved 11 schools and around 750 young people. Rock Challenge then expanded into many additional areas across the UK. In 2016, there were 49 days of events. The event stopped abruptly in 2019.

The premise of the Rock Challenge is that each school puts together an 8-minute dance and drama production on a theme of their choice set to a soundtrack of commercially available music. Over the course of months/weeks schools create their production and finally bring it to an event day held at a professional venue where they spend the day rehearsing and preparing for an evening show where parents, peers, community members, and invited guests attend. During the evening, a panel of judges give verbal feedback on each performance and also score each piece based on strict criteria. Performances are judged on:

Performance Judge Marks:

Production Judge Marks:

Drama and Design Judge Marks:

Each judge also gives the performance a mark for 'Overall Impact' out of 5.

At the end of the evening, a prize ceremony is held where a number of awards are presented along with the announcement of the top-scoring schools.