Young Festival Critics
Become a Young Festival Critic: see a performance, write a review and you could win a prize!
What is the Young Festival Critic Competition?
Newbury Spring Festival would like to invite YOU to create a review of a musical performance from the Newbury Spring Festival.
This is a great opportunity to hear world class musicians performing on your doorstep, develop your creative writing skills and be in with a chance to win some amazing prizes!
Competition Categories
There are three age groups for the compeition:
Age 5-8 years old
Age 9-11 years old
Age 12-18 years old
What is a Concert Review?
A concert review is a way of sharing your thoughts and feelings about a musical performance with other people.
You can find examples of written concert reviews printed in newspapers and magazines and on websites. Video and multimedia reviews, which are often shared by artists, critics and influencers, can also be found online in blogs, vlogs, music forums and social media platforms.
Concert reviews are informative, persuasive and creative. They often include recommendations and star ratings to guide potential future audiences towards upcoming concerts and are also used to help build an artists’ portfolio and measure their success.
How to Enter:
Follow the 4 STEPS here to choose your concert, create your review and send it in by 5 June 2026.
The judges will be looking for creativity in how you express your opinions and share your review with your audience.
Identify your Concert!
Which performances did you see?
See the performance!
Tickets can be purchased at www.newburyspringfestival.org.uk
Some events are Free for Under 30’s, and most have half-price children’s seats. We also have a number of events free for schools, including tickets to lunchtime recitals, please contact the office to find out more.
Create your review…
Your review should be a personal response. It is an opportunity to express your thoughts and opinions about the music and the performance.
You can create your review in a way that is unique and personal to you. Your review could be:
- written review in the style of a newspaper or magazine article
- an essay or standalone piece of creative writing
- filmed as a video (vlog) for a website
- created as video or reel for a social media review
- recorded as a radio report
You may also choose to include pictures, photographs or illustrations to bring your creative writing to life!
Send in your review.
Complete and send in your review by 5 June 2026.
Make sure you include:
- Your name
- Your age
- Name of your School / Sixth Form
- Teacher/Parent/Guardian Contact email address
Or submit your entry by Post:
NSF Young Critic Competition, 33 34 Cheap Street, Newbury, RG14 5DB
Submit your entry by Email: [email protected]
What could you win?
Some amazing prizes and opportunities await the winners! The winner from each age category will:
- be invited to the Newbury Spring Festival Gala Dinner to receive their Young Festival Critic Certificate;
- other prizes tbc.
Notifying the winners
Winners weill be announced by the end of the Summer Term.
The Judges
Graham Barker Chairman, Newbury Spring Festival
Ricki Smith Principal, St Gabriel’s, Newbury
Steve Christmas CEO, Good Vibes Music Academy
Trish Lee Arts Editor, Newbury Weekly News
Teaching Resources
With thanks to St. Gabriel’s we’re pleased to be able to offer a series of teaching resources and lesson plans based around the Young Festival Critics competition.