Ten glorious years of Princess Margaret Awards at Francis Holland School, London SW1

Rimbaud Patron and Mami Fuji
 danced the Pas de Deux
 from Raymonda by kind permission
 of the Directors, 
English National Ballet School.Photo:David Neville.

Val Hitchen has taught at this prestigious Chelsea school for 46 years! In fact since leaving the Royal Ballet School where she was the first student enrolled on de Valois’s newly formed Craftsman’s Course for Teaching. 

Princess Margaret who at the time was Patron of both the Company and the school sent her daughter, the now Lady Sarah Chatto, to Francis Holland School. HRH was extremely supportive of the ballet at school throughout Sarah’s years and beyond. Sarah took all of her RAD Grades with Val and was also accepted onto the Associate programme of the Royal Ballet School. It is not surprising therefore that shortly before she died, she generously gave her name to this unique and very special competition which is now an eagerly awaited for annual summer event at the school. 

The silver rose bowl with the ‘princess’ figurines at the rim was made in Birmingham and dates back to 1910 but perhaps even more special are the two awards which were especially commissioned by parents at the school and made at the David Linley work-rooms. Lord Linley is the son of Princess Margaret. 

The Coronet and the Obelisk both bear the initial ‘M’ in the style used by HRH and the dancers on the Obelisk are taken from photographs of Fonteyn by Jennie Walton. A separate award is named after Dame Antoinette Sibley whose daughter, Eloise, also attended Francis Holland School. 

For ten years both the Royal Ballet School and English National Ballet School have sent students to dance at the Awards Day and this is only made possible by British Harlequin who provide the Harlequin Cacsade dance floor that is laid in the school hall. 

Usually about 24 children are chosen from all those who compete in classes earlier in the year. Once the finalists have been chosen they have to commit to 2 week-ends of new work to be shown on the Awards day. Ages generally range from 4 years to 16 years. 

Over the years the competitors have danced for very special Guests of Honour: Lady Sarah Chatto, Dame Antoinette Sibley, Lady Anya Sainsbury CBE, Sir Peter Wright CBE, Miss Doreen Wells, Miss Lesley Collier, Mr Will Kemp.