Tamil Nadu Kalai Thiruvizha (School Arts Festival) — A Tamil Nadu Schools Arts Festival, Five Class Bands, 44 Items, Judged by Three Independent Judges

Kalotsavam · School Kalotsavam

Tamil Nadu School Education Department’s annual school arts festival 2025-26 for government and government-aided schools: five class bands (1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-12), 44 items, judging criteria and a separate CWSN section.

Sets up a Tamil Nadu style school arts festival: five class bands from classes 1-2 to 11-12, solo and group items in recitation, music, dance, drama, drawing and craft, a separate CWSN section, and the printed 100-mark criteria for each art form.

This template rebuilds the school arts festival of Tamil Nadu for 2025-26, which ran under the theme of greenery and heritage. A coordinator opens an event that already carries the real class bands, the 44 items and the published marking tables, instead of a blank catalogue. It suits a school, a cluster of schools or a district that wants to stage a Tamil-language arts festival for government and government-aided school pupils, and the structure adapts well to any school festival that groups pupils by class rather than by age.

Pupils compete in five class bands: classes 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12. The lower bands carry a short list (6 items for classes 1-2, 12 for classes 3-5, 14 for classes 6-8), while classes 9-10 and 11-12 each carry 34. Items cover recitation and storytelling, light, classical and folk singing, Bharatanatyam, folk and other dance styles, solo acting, miming and mimicry, speech, Therukoothu, street play, literary drama and puppetry, a range of drums, wind and string instruments, and drawing, colouring, rangoli, clay and sculpture work. Item names are given in English with the Tamil original in brackets. The template installs a solo group and a team group for each band from class 3 upwards, so a dance that runs as a group of four to nine sits beside the solo version without clashing.

Boys and girls are not separated: every item is open. In the source rules a pupil may take part in at most three individual items and two group items, and the first-placed pupil or team of each item moves forward to the next stage, with the first three places recorded. The platform has no field for those limits or for the forward-selection rule, so the coordinator applies them when registering and when promoting winners. The age ranges attached to each class band (5-7, 8-10, 11-13, 14-15, 16-18) are an eTalenter mapping from class to age, because the rules give classes only.

Every art form is marked out of 100, with one table per art form, and items of the same kind share a table: the three drama items use one table, group dances use another, and recitation items share a fourth. Three judges mark independently without conferring, the three marks are averaged, and a tie on the same average is settled by the judges together. A few items, including some of the clay and sculpture items, print no criteria table, so they install without judging criteria and the coordinator should add one before the day. A separate section for children with special needs installs as five CWSN groups, one per class band, using the same items. Use the Registration Page to collect entries, and check each pupil’s class before placing them in a band.

Where this event comes from

The festival is the annual school arts competition of Tamil Nadu, staged in stages from school level upwards, and this edition follows the 2025-26 programme with its heritage theme.

Where this event is run

Tamil Nadu, India, among government and government-aided schools, with the competition moving from school to cluster, block, district and state stages. The template follows that single-state, class-banded format, so it suits any organiser running a long item list across many class bands. It is less suited to private-school festivals that need a different eligibility rule, or to a single-genre contest with only a handful of items.

• Tamil Nadu, India (state school arts festival)

Key facts

• 44 items across five class bands: classes 1-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-10 and 11-12
• Solo and team groups from class 3 upwards, plus five CWSN groups, one per band
• Open to boys and girls together; the source limits a pupil to 3 individual and 2 group items
• Three judges mark independently, marks are averaged out of 100 per art form, and ties are settled by the judges together
• First three places recorded, with no placing points printed, so ranks install with zero bonus points
• Class-to-age ranges are a platform mapping; dates, venues and the forward-selection rule are not modelled

Age groups

14

Competition items

44

Competitions

115

Grade bands

0

Rank awards

6

Age groups

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

Cl 1-2

5From

–

7To

Candidates aged 5 to 7 compete in this group

Cl 3-5 Solo

8From

–

10To

Candidates aged 8 to 10 compete in this group

Cl 3-5 Group

8From

–

10To

Candidates aged 8 to 10 compete in this group

Cl 6-8 Solo

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Cl 6-8 Group

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

Cl 9-10 Solo

14From

–

15To

Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group

Cl 9-10 Group

14From

–

15To

Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group

Cl 11-12 Solo

16From

–

18To

Candidates aged 16 to 18 compete in this group

Cl 11-12 Group

16From

–

18To

Candidates aged 16 to 18 compete in this group

CWSN Cl 1-2

5From

–

7To

Candidates aged 5 to 7 compete in this group

CWSN Cl 3-5

8From

–

10To

Candidates aged 8 to 10 compete in this group

CWSN Cl 6-8

11From

–

13To

Candidates aged 11 to 13 compete in this group

CWSN Cl 9-10

14From

–

15To

Candidates aged 14 to 15 compete in this group

CWSN Cl 11-12

16From

–

18To

Candidates aged 16 to 18 compete in this group

Competition items

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

Recitation - Children's Rhymes incl. Aathichoodi (ஒப்புவித்தல் போட்டி – மழலையர் பாடல்)

On StageMarks

Storytelling (கதை கூறுதல்)

On StageMarks

Colouring (வண்ணம் தீட்டுதல்)

Off StageMarks

Fancy Dress (மாறுவேடப் போட்டி)

On StageMarks

Clay Toy Making (களிமண் பொம்மைகள் செய்தல்)

Off StageMarks

Speech (பேச்சுப் போட்டி)

On StageMarks

Thirukkural Recitation (திருக்குறள் ஒப்புவித்தல்)

On StageMarks

Light Music - Solo Song (மெல்லிசை – தனிப்பாடல்)

On StageMarks

Patriotic Songs (தேச பக்தி பாடல்கள்)

On StageMarks

Folk Dance - Solo (நாட்டுப்புற நடனம் (தனி))

On StageMarks

Bharatanatyam - Solo (பரத நாட்டியம் (தனி))

On StageMarks

Drawing and Colouring (ஓவியம் வரைந்து வண்ணம் தீட்டுதல்)

Off StageMarks

Solo Acting (தனிநபர் நடிப்பு)

On StageMarks

Folk Dance - Group of 4 to 9 (நாட்டுப்புற நடனம் (குழு))

On StageMarks

Bharatanatyam - Group of 4 to 9 (பரத நாட்டியம் (குழு))

On StageMarks

Clay Relief Work (களிமண் சுதை வேலைப்பாடு)

Off StageMarks

Sand Sculpture (மணல் சிற்பம்)

Off StageMarks

Rangoli (ரங்கோலி)

Off StageMarks

Classical Music - Solo Vocal (செவ்வியல் இசை – தனிப்பாட்டு)

On StageMarks

Folk Song - Solo (நாட்டுப்புற பாடல் – தனிப்பாட்டு)

On StageMarks

Miming (பாவனை நடிப்பு (Miming) – தனி)

On StageMarks

Mimicry (பலகுரல் பேச்சு)

On StageMarks

Villupattu - Group of 1 + 4 (வில்லுப்பாட்டு – குழு)

On StageMarks

Cartoon Drawing and Colouring (கேலி சித்திரம் வரைதல் & வண்ணம் தீட்டுதல்)

Off StageMarks

Show all 44 items

Pot Painting (பானை ஓவியம்)

Off StageMarks

Clay Sculpture (களிமண் சிற்பம்)

Off StageMarks

Paper-Pulp Objects / Carved Sculpture in vegetable, soap, wax or chalk (காகிதக்கூழ் பொருள்கள் / செதுக்குச் சிற்பம்)

Off StageMarks

Skin Instrument - Pambai / Urumi / Udukkai (பம்பை / உருமி / உடுக்கை)

On StageMarks

Skin Instrument - Parai (பறை)

On StageMarks

Skin Instrument - Mridangam / Tabla / Thavil / Kadam (மிருதங்கம் / தபேலா / தவில் / கடம்)

On StageMarks

Skin Instrument - Drums, Triple Drum (டிரம்ஸ் (Triple Drum / Drums))

On StageMarks

Wind Instrument - Nadaswaram (நாதஸ்வரம்)

On StageMarks

Wind Instrument - Flute (புல்லாங்குழல்)

On StageMarks

Wind Instrument - Harmonium (ஹார்மோனியம்)

On StageMarks

Wind Instrument - Keyboard (கீ போர்டு)

On StageMarks

String Instrument - Violin (வயலின்)

On StageMarks

String Instrument - Veena / Vichitra Veena / Gottuvadhyam (வீணை / விசித்திர வீணை அல்லது கோட்டு வாத்தியம்)

On StageMarks

String Instrument - Guitar / Mandolin (கிட்டார் / மாண்டலின்)

On StageMarks

Other Dance Styles - Solo (பிறவகை நடனம் – தனி)

On StageMarks

Other Dance Styles, Free Style - Group of 4 to 9 (பிறவகை நடனம் (free style) – குழு)

On StageMarks

Therukoothu - Group of 4 to 8 (தெருக்கூத்து – குழு)

On StageMarks

Street Play - Group of 4 to 8 (வீதி நாடகம் – குழு)

On StageMarks

Literary Drama - Group of 5 (இலக்கிய நாடகம் – குழு)

On StageMarks

Puppetry - Group of 4 to 8, leather, wooden or shadow puppets (பொம்மலாட்டம் – குழு)

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 software.