Students of the Year
Every year we honour a student who has shown outstanding all-round talent, enthusiasm and team spirit. As well as the kudos, they win a year’s scholarship to the school.
Arklow/Avoca
2020 Jack McDermott
2019 Áine Byrne
2018 Ioana Bosneaga
2017 Caylin Walsh & Eimear Wolohan
2016 Clodagh O’Sullivan
2015 Seamus Macken
2014 Katie Davis
2013 Liam Prendergast
2012 Karla Tracey
2011 Rose Pollard
2010 Jessica Davis
2009 Mark McGann
2008 Diewerke de Zwarte
2007 Shauna Crooke
2006 Peter McGann
Gorey
2020 Naoise Henderson Lacey/Ciarán Smith
2019 K-Lou Murray
2018 Bronwyn Campbell Carty
2017 Padraig O’Leary
2016 Madison Colemen
2015 Al Lambert
2014 Katie-May Byrne
2013 Jordi Wortmann
2012 Cara O’Connor
2011 Melissa Larkin
2010 Ciara Hughes
2009 Rosie Byrne
2008 Maeve O’Keefe
2007 Caolán Kelly
2006 Sara Jane Mangan
Film-Making School
2019 Qadeer Hussain
Deirdre Short Memorial Award
for Most Promising Student
This perpetual trophy commemorates a talented student from our original Avoca school who passed away in her teens. It is given to a student we feel has the most potential to pursue performance as a course of study or profession.
2020 K-Lou Murray
2019 Bronwyn Campbell Carty
2018 Jordi Wortmann
2017 Leila Mulhall
2016 Elizabeth Gahan
2015 Lily Henrich Doyle
2014 Seán O’Keeffe
2013 Cara O’Connor
2012 Erika Copeland
2011 Laura Doyle
2010 Karla Tracey
2009 Jonny Holden
2008 Emma Foster
2007 Conal O’Shiel
2006 Tanis Tonge
PACE Award Winners
(Performing Arts Certificate of Excellence)
This occasional award is given to a student who has demonstrated exceptional commitment to their skills, to performance and to making a positive contribution to the school.
2014 Lily Henrich Doyle
2011 Áine Collier
2007 Sarah Morris
Men in Black Award
for outstanding work backstage
It doesn’t all happen in the glare of the spotlights…without dedicated backstage crew, the shows wouldn’t run as smoothly. Every now and again, one of our volunteers gets plucked out of the shadows to celebrate their usually unsung efforts.
2011 Jessica Davis
2008 Rachel Bothwell
2007 Eoin O’Grady
Innovations Bursary
Innovations Theatre School has long had the mission of nurturing young performers. We also want to encourage and support those who wish to pursue further training in performance and production.
The Bursary is available to any student who has been with the school for at least two years and left the school no more than five years before the time of application. The award is open to anyone undertaking a full-time professional training course in a performance-related field. As well as the disciplines of dance, acting or singing, this may include (but not be restricted to) design or direction for stage or screen, stage management, radio, film or television production.
Jordi Wortmann became our second beneficiary in September 2019 as he started a course in Acting for Film, TV and Theatre at Bray Institute of Further Education. Jordi was both a Student of the Year and recipient of the Deirdre Shortt Award, as well as taking a number of leading roles in our productions and in the 2018 Disneyland Time to Shine trip.
We awarded our first Bursary in May 2017 to Lily Henrich Doyle, a student who won every award available in Innovations and who worked as a student teacher with us in her final two years. She studied at Liberties College in Performance – Drama and has made a few guest appearances as a drama or dance teacher since we waved her off on her adventures.