UVI Form pupil, Olivia Gosling, is to be congratulated on winning a place on the prestigious Acting Foundation Course 
at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA).
This is a fantastic achievement for Olivia, who is one of just 22 students chosen from over 4,000 applicants!
Olivia, with Matilda Ellis, is a Sixth Form Drama Scholar at St Mary’s Calne.
Both Olivia and Matilda played the role of Hamlet in the school’s major autumn double production (a double ensemble in period and modern dress) in October 2012.
Olivia has been performing on the St Mary’s stage in the Delscey Burns Theatre since LIV Form and has graduated from playing Junior roles to leading Senior roles, including Young Martin in the Drama Department’s 2008 London transfer to RADA in The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Isabella in Measure For Measure as part of the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival in 2009, Harper Lee in the school’s 2010 production To Kill A Mockingbird, as well as the aforementioned Hamlet in 2012.
Olivia also performed at the Edinburgh Fringe last year with actors from her year group in their own devised show, Macbeth Unsexed, which was awarded a four star critical review.
RADA is one of the oldest drama schools in the UK, having been founded in 1904, and is generally regarded as one of the most prestigious drama schools in the world.
St Mary’s Drama Department has a special link with RADA with a unique advanced communications course created for the UVI Form, which was established in 2006.
Director of Drama, Lilian Leadbetter, commented “Olivia is a gifted actress who thoroughly deserves this much sought-after place at RADA.
She is a wonderful performer who has worked incredibly hard to develop her craft; she has given so much to our theatre and the school during her seven year career here. I think we may well be seeing more of her in the future – in the spotlight – on the public stage.”