Inspiring creativity at the Royal Ballet and Opera Design Challenge

Published 16th July 2025

Earlier this summer, we attended the Design Challenge Celebration Day and it was an incredible showcase of creativity, talent and hard work from KS5 students across the country.

The Royal Ballet and Opera’s national Design Challenge offers students a unique chance to step into the world of professional design. With four exciting pathways to choose from: Set Design, Costume Design, Wigs, Hair and Makeup Design, and Marketing Design, the challenge invites students to develop industry-relevant skills in a hands-on, imaginative and inspiring way.

The standard of work presented this year was outstanding. The creativity and innovation shown by students was a true reflection of the time, care and energy they had invested throughout the process.

For teachers, this is a brilliant opportunity to enrich the learning experience for KS5 students. Whether embedded into your existing curriculum or run as an extra-curricular project, the Design Challenge supports creative problem-solving, user-centred thinking, and insight into real-world career pathways. It’s designed to flex around your timetable and your learners, including post-16 SEND students and fits naturally into a wide range of Level 3 qualifications.

We left the Celebration Day inspired and energised, not only by the standard of the work on show, but by the dedication of the teachers who made it possible. It’s clear this challenge is doing something special: building confidence, raising aspirations, and putting creativity at the heart of learning.

Registration is now open for the 2025/26 Design Challenge – we’d encourage every design and technology teacher to explore this brilliant opportunity.

Photography ©2025 Scarlett Cook