National Eisteddfod of South Africa (NEA) — National Eisteddfod Set Up in Minutes: 11 Sections, 3 School-Grade Categories, Diploma, Gold, Silver and Bronze Awards

Cultural & Folk Festival · Africa

The national eisteddfod of South Africa across music, dance, speech and drama, creative arts and indigenous arts, in three school-grade categories.

Sets up a school-grade eisteddfod: music, dance, speech and drama, creative arts and indigenous arts across Entry Level, Junior and Senior categories, with award tiers instead of a single winner.

This template builds an eisteddfod of the South African kind: a broad, multi-discipline festival where learners perform or exhibit in front of an adjudicator and are rated against a standard rather than only against each other. A coordinator opens an event that already holds the three school-grade categories and the eleven sections of the published prospectus, instead of inventing a category list. It suits school clusters, cultural centres and regional arts bodies that want a graded, award-based festival, and it models the competition side only; the venue programme, accompanists and stage crew sit outside the software.

Entries are grouped by school grade rather than by birth year. Entry Level covers Grades 0 to 3, Junior covers Grades 4 to 7 and Senior covers Grade 8 and above. The template stores approximate age bands for each (5 to 9, 10 to 13 and 14 to 19) so registration can sort entrants, but the grade is the real rule, so check the age bands against how your own entrants are registered. The eleven sections are Confidence Builder, Indigenous Arts, five music sections (Novice and Elementary Instrumental, Choral, Vocal, Instrumental and Music Theatre), Dance, Speech and Drama, Creative Arts and Participants with Different Abilities. Every section runs in all three categories, giving 33 category-and-section rows. Choral is entered as a team; everything else is an individual entry, open to boys and girls together, and the language is set to English.

Scoring is out of 100 marks per entry, and results are expressed as award tiers: Diploma, Gold, Silver and Bronze, with a Junior Diploma for the Foundation Phase (Entry Level). A Diploma is stated as 91% and above. The thresholds for Gold, Silver and Bronze are not published openly and are not asserted here, so the template carries the tiers without percentage cut-offs; add your own once you have your event’s rules. The template attaches 12, 9, 6 and 3 points to Diploma, Gold, Silver and Bronze for any aggregate you wish to run, and a Junior Diploma carries the same 12 points as a Diploma. Time limits and entry fees are left at zero because they vary by section and are for the organiser to set.

To run it, open the Registration Page for entries, enter each learner in a section and category, add your adjudicators and record the mark for each entry. Use the tiers to print certificates rather than to force a single first place. If your festival also has a published prospectus with section-specific limits, set the time limit on each row after you install. This is a competition structure for graded adjudication, so it is not a fit for a knockout contest or a sports day.

Where this event comes from

The eisteddfod is a Welsh festival tradition of competitive music, poetry and performance, and the form was carried to South Africa, where it grew into a graded, school-based festival covering several disciplines.

Where this event is run

School and community eisteddfods in South Africa, from local and regional rounds up to a national event, where learners enter by school grade and are adjudicated against a published set of criteria. The graded-award model also suits similar arts festivals elsewhere, but the grade categories and section names here are specific to South Africa.

• South Africa

Key facts

• 11 sections in 3 categories: Entry Level (Gr 0-3), Junior (Gr 4-7) and Senior (Gr 8 and above)
• 33 category-and-section rows; Music – Choral is a team entry, every other row is individual
• Marks out of 100 per entry, rated into Diploma, Gold, Silver and Bronze
• Diploma is 91% and above; Gold, Silver and Bronze thresholds are left for the organiser to set
• A Junior Diploma is awarded in the Foundation Phase (Entry Level)
• Time limits and fees are not preset because they vary by section

Age groups

3

Competition items

11

Competitions

33

Grade bands

0

Rank awards

5

Age groups

Every candidate is placed into one of these groups by age, and competitions are run per group.

Entry Level

5From

–

9To

Candidates aged 5 to 9 compete in this group

Junior (Gr 4-7)

10From

–

13To

Candidates aged 10 to 13 compete in this group

Senior (Gr8+)

14From

–

19To

Candidates aged 14 to 19 compete in this group

Competition items

The events themselves — each with the category it belongs to and how judges score it.

Confidence Builder

On StageMarks

Indigenous Arts

On StageMarks

Music - Novice and Elementary Instrumental

On StageMarks

Music - Choral

On StageMarks

Music - Vocal

On StageMarks

Music - Instrumental

On StageMarks

Music - Music Theatre

On StageMarks

Dance

On StageMarks

Speech and Drama

On StageMarks

Creative Arts

Off StageMarks

Participants with Different Abilities

On StageMarks

Frequently asked questions

Can I change this template after installing it?

Yes — installing it creates a fully configured, live event, not a locked package. Every age group, competition item, rule and scoring setting can be edited afterwards to match exactly what your event actually needs.

Do I need technical knowledge to set this up?

No. Installing a template does the setup work for you; you only need to review the details (dates, unit or house names) and open registration.

Want the fuller picture first? See our guide to judge scoring and tabulation guide.