At the end of Term One, two Shakespeare groups from Columba travelled to the Kings and Queens Performing Arts Centre to partake in the annual Sheila Winn Shakespeare Festival.

Columba was able to enter in two pieces: one being five minutes and the other 15. The five-minute piece was a small scene from ‘Twelfth Night’, with three senior actors, Year 13's Lydia Christensen, Erin Dailey and Anna Snow. It was a student-directed piece executed to perfection at the competition, and with much humour.

‘Othello’ was the 15 minute piece which was teacher directed by Ms Bercinskas. Ms Bercinskas decided to fit all of Othello into 15 minutes, carefully picking out the most important details of the play. The performance was immaculate with standout acting from all involved. Sophie Baron (Othello) won the Best Actor performance and was awarded direct entry to the Shakespeare National Youth Company in Wellington, and later in the year, Dunedin for intensive performance workshops. Overall the competition was an excellent experience for everyone who went.