Royal Opera House National Challenge honours Brighton MET students

Creative Industries students at Brighton MET put their skills to the ultimate test in a recent prestigious competition run by the Royal Opera House.

The hands-on design challenge saw both Level 3 Art Foundation student, Maudie Wotherspoon, win the Marketing Design award and Level 3 Fashion Design and Business student, Friday Rigg secure the Highly Commended status for the Costume Design award.

Maudie said: “I think this challenge was a good insight into working with live briefs.

“I also liked how open ended it was, as long as it fits into one of the visions, you could do what you want, and it is really good experience for my professional portfolio.”

The challenge is designed to improve students’ creative problem-solving, build understanding of career pathways, explore the connections between STEM and the arts, and develop students’ empathy skills needed to design for an audience and other user groups. 

Friday added: “I liked the specific brief, having to do the historical research was really fun, and tying it into designs was fun as well”

“I got most of my inspiration from the Victoria and Albert Museum, I hadn’t done that before with anything else, so that was interesting to use”

Both Maudie and Friday are excited to visit the exhibition of the Winning and Highly Commended work, which will be on public display in the Linbury Foyer at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden from Monday 27 May to Monday 10 June 2024.

Maria Edney, Head of Learning for Creative Industries at Brighton MET, said: “We are incredibly proud of Maudie and Friday for their outstanding achievements in the Royal Opera House National Design Challenge.

“Their success in such a prestigious competition is a testament to their hard work, creativity, and dedication. These awards highlight the exceptional talent we have at Brighton MET and the bright futures that lie ahead for our students.”

If you are interested in studying one of our creative courses at Brighton MET visit https://www.brightonmet.ac.uk/study-with-us/subjects/art-and-design/