By Shaffie A Mtambo
The South West Education Division (SWED) Drama Festival, held at Chichiri Secondary School, has crowned Stella Maris Girls Secondary School, Chichiri Secondary School, and Soche Hill Secondary School as the top three schools to represent the division at the national stage.
The festival, part of the Association for the Teaching of English in Malawi (ATEM) national drama competition series, saw nine schools competing in the drama festival.
The top-performing schools were recognized for their exceptional performances, with Stella Maris Girls Secondary School, Chichiri Secondary School, and Soche Hill Secondary School impressing the judges with their creativity, confidence, and command of English through drama.
Other participating schools included Chikonde CDSS, Matope CDSS, Chirimba CDSS, Chiwale CDSS, Manja Intensive, and Ntenjera CDSS.
Several students were also recognized for their outstanding performances, including Giddes Praise Mkata (Chichiri Secondary) as Best Actor, Stance Mwapasa (Stella Maris) as Best Actress, Siyabonga Mbanga-Mbanga (Chichiri) as Best Supporting Actor, and Joyce Mlongoti (Stella Maris) as Best Supporting Actress. John Thapelo from Chichiri was awarded Best English Speaker.
The ATEM national drama competition series will continue with regional contests in other divisions, including NED (Mzuzu), CWED (Lilongwe), CEED (Kasungu), SEED (Machinga), and SHED (Luchenza). The top three schools from each division will advance to the national stage, where the best student performers will be showcased.
The SWED event was made possible through the support of Standard Bank and MobiSchool, highlighting the importance of partnerships in promoting arts and education in Malawi.
