Phoebe Ociepka-Tearle, also an Art & Design Extended Diploma student, was highly commended in the Marketing Strategy & Design category for her highly imaginative poster and animation. Ryan Skeel was commended in the Marketing Strategy & Design pathway for his stunning poster and animation, while Sophie Fish, a Beauty and Make-Up student, was commended in the Hair, Wigs & Make-Up pathway for her wonderful work for the character ‘Papageno’.

The three winners were joined by the 2020 winning candidate, Charlotte Dance, who was crowned the winner of the Set Design category with her piece themed around Giacomo Puccini’s 1896 masterpiece, La bohème. At the time of the 2020 awards, Charlotte studied Level 3 Art & Design at ESC Lewes. Charlotte had to wait an extra year to pick-up her well-deserved award!

The annual Design Challenge competition runs in the Autumn term and invites students from colleges and universities across the country to compete in four categories; Set Design, Costume Design, Hair, Wig and Make-up Design, and Marketing Strategy and Design.

James DiBiase, A-Level Art tutor, said, “Each year our students really look forward to entering the ROH Design Challenge. They’re given an opera or ballet to work on and a set of four Director’s visions, which they must use as project guidelines. All of the designs and productions are judged against how well they would work in the opera house.

This year’s winners and those identified at highly commended will exhibit their work as part of the Opera: Passion, Power and Politics exhibition at the V&A Museum on Friday 9th February 2018.

The Royal Opera House Design Challenge is not just any competition; it's a platform where dreams meet reality. Over 40 schools and colleges nationwide participate annually, presenting students with a rare opportunity to engage with live briefs and real clients. For East Sussex College students, it's a chance to shine on one of the world's most prestigious stages.

Trinity Bird - Royal Opera House Design Challenge Best Set Design

The annual Royal Opera House Design Challenge is somewhat a rite of passage for Creative students at East Sussex College in Lewes. The national competition, open to schools and colleges across the country, has seen East Sussex College students the recipients of its top awards since 2013.

Over 40 schools/colleges nationally participate in the Royal Opera House Design Challenge as it provides an incredible opportunity for students to engage with a ‘live’ brief, a real client, and create a design for the most prestigious stage in the country, if not the world. The College has a highly impressive track record of students winning or being awarded highly commended for their highly imaginative, creative responses and outcomes, with at least one winner for one of the five categories in the past ten years. 

East Sussex College Lewes students celebrated their success at the Royal Opera House Design Challenge, engaging with this year's theme inspired by ‘The Barber of Seville’.

Students will hear if they have been successful in the Royal Opera House Design Challenge later this Spring. This will be the tenth consecutive competition the College has entered, and follows College success in all its previous years.

James DiBiase, A-Level Art tutor at East Sussex College, says, “The Royal Opera House Design Challenge is now one of the highlights of the year. It is becoming increasingly more difficult with the high calibre of entries nationwide to believe our students will be among the prizes.

For the TENTH successive year, East Sussex College Lewes students celebrate success in the prestigious Royal Opera House Design Challenge. ESC student William Chan, aged 19 from Eastbourne, won the Set Design Award and was also chosen for the Director’s Choice Award. Itamar Burstein Lachman, aged 17 from Lewes, and George Bayly, aged 18 from Hassocks, were recognised as Highly Commended for poster and set design respectively.

We have a great reputation for being a college of creative excellence. We have large creative workspaces, stacks of resources at our students’ disposal, and some of the finest tutors in the area. All this helps our students to excel in national competitions like the Royal Opera House Design Challenge. The students’ work has become so successful in this competition that it is now the ‘Gold Standard’ and used as inspiration for other colleges wishing to take part. Just before the lockdown, we were delighted to announce that Charlotte Dance won this year's best Set Design category.

The Art & Design students from East Sussex College will use the Artists & Makers Fair to raise funds for their Royal Opera House Challenge work to be displayed in the exhibition space at the Star Brewery Gallery, Lewes in February 2023. The Royal Opera House Challenge is a nationwide competition, giving students across the country the opportunity to design sets, costumes, hair, wigs and make-up, or develop a marketing campaign for an opera or ballet, selected by the Royal Opera House. The Royal Opera House Design Challenge 2023 is based on Mozart’s ‘The Magic Flute’. The students’ work will be exhibited locally at the Star Brewery Gallery, before making its way to London for the competition.

Their award-winning work will also be featured in a public exhibition at the Linbury Foyer, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, from 11th June to 1st July 2025.

Fourteen Art & Design students from East Sussex College’s Lewes campus attended the Artists and Makers Fair in Lewes to raise funds for their Royal Opera House Challenge work to be displayed in the exhibition space at the Star Brewery Gallery in February 2023.