HUNDREDS of school students from across the conurbation took to the stage to show off their dancing and choreography skills in a bid to be the best they can be.

As part of the nationwide performing arts competition Rock Challenge, pupils performed at the Pavilion Theatre to display their finest moves in front of family, friends and staff members last night.

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Queen Elizabeth’s School were awarded first place in the 2016 Be Your Best Bournemouth Rock Challenge with their performance ‘The Lost Brother’.

The school’s piece followed the tale of an African village viciously taken over by the powerful army, with the group now qualifying for the Southern Open Final B held at Portsmouth Guildhall in June.

In second place were Twynham School who performed their harrowing piece, ‘Innocent Warriors’, which told the story of innocent school children kidnapped by the frightening fundamentalist militias.

Third place was presented to The Gryphon School for their piece ‘You’ll never know who I really am…’

The Gryphon School took a twist on a familiar topic by showing us the danger of the internet through circus characters with a set featuring a giant iPad.

Oak Academy - LeAF Campus and Corfe Hills School also attended the event, both receiving an array of Premier Awards of Excellence to compete at the Southern Premier Final in June.

The event, held at Bournemouth Pavilion, attracted an audience of over 900 people and was supported by PQA, Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, Ansvar Insurance and Radian.

Police and Crime Commissioner for Dorset, Martyn Underhill attended the event and presented first place.

He said: “This is my third year of coming to Rock Challenge, it’s amazing to see the commitment from the children and the survey we’ve done this year, some of the results of that survey are absolutely staggering and show why Police and Crime Commissioners, businesses, schools and everyone else should support this event.

"This truly is an amazing thing for young people; it brings them together, brings teachers together and it keeps people safe. It takes young people off the streets and into the dance studio and that’s an amazing thing so well done to Rock Challenge.”

Ahead of their rocking eight-minute performances last night, students spent the day rehearsing which for most meant dancing in the aisles while cheering on the competition.

Schools taking part included: Highcliffe School, Twynham School, The Grange School and Queen Elizabeth's School, as well as the Oak Academy, Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy, The Sir John Colfox School and St Osmund's Middle School.

For Corfe Hills School students Aidan Nicholas-Alexander and Abi Logan, both 18, with their fellow pupil Stephen Downey, 17, it was a chance to 'go out with a bang' as they celebrated their last year taking part.

Their performance What Divides Us Unites Us was based on the events of Hurricane Katrina after Abi, who choreographed the show, watched a documentary about the disaster.

"I just really like the focus on emotion and the idea of building a community feel into our performance," she said.

"Our main overall theme is no matter what a family goes through or what the community goes through they can all go through it together.

"It will be good to show what we can do. It's very exciting."

Aidan added: "It's really special to me; I get to go out with a bang."

India Essex and Jaz Ncube, both 15, of The Gryphon School in Sherborne, said their school’s piece was based on a true story of two girls who were trafficked after joining the circus in Germany.

Jaz said: "Two main girls are trafficked by clowns in the circus and turned into sex workers. They're trapped."

India added: "They don't know who they can trust anymore."

The story, they said, was to draw attention to the dangers of social media.

"Online is really dangerous and lots of people go on social media," Jaz said.

India said: "Some people don't realise how dangerous it is. Technology has become more advanced so more people use it and we're trying to raise awareness that it's not as safe as it is."

But for Isle of Portland Aldridge Community Academy students Cody Shutler-Levi, 17, Zoe Mutter, 18, and Matthew Eyres, 16, it was just about having fun with their show Mad Adventures in Wonderland.

Matthew said: "They call it a competition but it's more about showing what we can do. It's more friendly."

Prior to the event, Sammy Eastwood, senior event manager, said: "We're excited to see what the schools have brought. They've worked tirelessly. We're looking forward to a fantastic show. The most important thing is the support the schools have shown each other. It's been electric."