Layla Firth named top student at the SA 2017 AWARD School graduation held last night

Layla Firth has been awarded top student at the South Australia 2017 AWARD School graduation ceremony, which took place at The Austral Hotel in Adelaide on last night (Thursday, 27 July).

She is now in the running for top student at the National AWARD School Competition, with the chance to win a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet David Droga in NYC. The national winner will be announced on Monday 7 August in Sydney.

Commenting on the quality of Firth’s work, SA judge Oliver Prenton of The Distillery said: “Layla really impressed the judges and she ended up scoring very highly on quite a few briefs. There were a few stand out students this year but her enthusiasm and inquisitive nature mixed with a relentless pursuit to crack the brief ultimately led to some varied and mature thinking.”

SA judge John McLaren of Blacksheep Advertising adding: “Layla Firth delivered work that had clarity but also a sense of ‘fun and adventure’. Her work demonstrated a sound grasp of the fundamentals but also some imaginative and strategic thinking.”

Second place was awarded to Pippa Coles (left).

Before a crowd of industry professionals and supporters, SA AWARD School Head Matt O’Grady of KWP! congratulated the class of 12 graduates on completing the 12 week intensive course.

Says O’Grady: “As a state known for its energy problems, there was certainly no shortage of it from this year’s AWARD School students. Having headed the school for the past few years, I’d say the ‘Class of 2017’ was our most determined and competitive yet.

“It was great to see each student working the tutors hard and finessing their projects right through to the end. I was also encouraged to see some outstanding and unique work in the integrated, digital and innovation categories with several pieces scoring some of the highest marks.”

O’Grady also took the opportunity to thank this year’s lecturers, tutors and judges for their time and support over the 12 week course.

2017 SA AWARD School Tutors

Matt O’Grady – KWP!

Corey Swaffer – KWP!

Johnny Velis – Jamshop

Michael Gagliardi – BAD Advertising

Matt Minear – BAD Advertising

Andy Scott – Showpony

Oliver Prenton – The Distillery

John McLaren – Blacksheep Advertising

Dave Lawson – WDM Advertising

This year’s five state winners from Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide and Brisbane will have their books reviewed by the National Competition ‘Super Jury’, comprising leading creatives from around the world.

The National Competition coincides with the 30th anniversary of a teenage David Droga, Founder and Creative Chairman of renowned agency Droga5, winning Top Student at AWARD School in 1987.

To mark the occasion, AWARD School will fly the national winner to NYC to meet David Droga and to compare their winning portfolios from 1987 and 2017.

Dates for all graduation ceremonies are as follows:

QLD – Wednesday 19 July

NSW – Tuesday 25 July

VIC – Wednesday 26 July

SA – Thursday 27 July

WA – Friday 28 July

National Announcement (in Sydney) – Monday 7 August

Full details here: http://awardonline.com/education/award-school.