East Sussex College students win Royal Ballet & Opera House Design Challenge once again

East Sussex College students have once again achieved outstanding success in the prestigious Royal Ballet and Opera Design Challenge, continuing an exceptional run of success in the national competition that spans more than a decade. 

The challenge attracts around 2,000 entries from schools and colleges across the UK. 

This year’s challenge was inspired by Das Rheingold (The Gold of the River Rhine), an opera by composer Richard Wagner. Set in a mythical world of gods, giants and supernatural beings, the story explores how the pursuit of wealth can lead to corruption and downfall.

Using the music and narrative as creative inspiration, students responded to a professional industry brief, gaining valuable insight into the world of performance design. With four specialist pathways - Set Design, Costume Design, Wigs, Hair and Makeup (WHAM) Design, and Marketing Design - the challenge enables students to develop industry-relevant, hands-on creative skills.

Five East Sussex College students were recognised across multiple categories this year, achieving outstanding results:

• Commended (Marketing Design): Mary Pledger
• Highly Commended (Wigs, Hair and Makeup Design): Max Bowling
• Joint Winner (WHAM Design): Rex Dejonge
• Joint Winner (Set Design) & Associate Choice Award (Director’s Choice – across all categories): Izzy Clements

Izzy Clements, Joint Set Design winner and Associate Choice Award winner, said: “For the Royal Ballet and Opera Design Challenge, I made a set design that is inspired by organic forms. I used Plaster of Paris, so it has lots of different textures and it can be used throughout the opera showing different locations and scenes.

“When I found out I had won, I was very happy and couldn’t believe it - especially winning both set design and the Associates Choice.”

She added, “There’s no doubt this project has really helped me to understand how set designs or designing spaces work. I’m excited to go to the awards ceremony and learn even more from professionals about how set designers work and operate in the theatre business.”

Rex Dejonge, Joint WHAM Design winner, said: “I made a wig inspired by GU hair and makeup. I was inspired by the mermaids and made a mermaid style wig. I got a call from my tutor to tell me I’d won. To say I was really happy when I found out, is a bit of an understatement. I went to my mum screaming!”

Max Bowling, Highly Commended in WHAM Design, said: “I made a wig and a makeup look for a Rhine maiden, kind of reimagining the character as a drag queen. I used synthetic hair and papier-mâché to make a really sculptural wig, and I hand-painted the head as well.”

The competition was judged by a panel of industry professionals from the Royal Ballet & Opera, including specialists in set design, costume, wigs and marketing. 

Thomas Guthrie, Creative Associate at the Royal Ballet & Opera House, spoke glowingly about Izzy’s work and said, “It is rare to come across work that captures not just the conceptual brief from which the creative team might work but the full depth of the piece itself. This design did both – I loved it.”  

James DiBiase, Art & Design Course Leader at East Sussex College, said: “We’re thrilled and immensely proud of our students’ success in this year’s Royal Ballet & Opera Design Challenge, including multiple category wins and the prestigious Associate Choice award. This achievement speaks volumes about their creativity, resilience and commitment. Responding to a demanding live brief of this calibre requires real professionalism and prepares them for the expectations of the creative industries.” 

Students will attend the Royal Ballet & Opera House on 16th June, where they will collect their awards and see their work showcased alongside entries from across the UK.

The exhibition of our students’ work will be on public display in the Linbury Foyer at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from 11th - 30th June 2026. Visitors are encouraged to come along and experience it for themselves.