Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival is marking its 15th year with a new home and with a brand new set of classes for dancers.

For many years the event has attracted hundreds of entries from all over the area for its music, speech and drama categories.

And this year they will be heading for The Deanery in Wichelstowe.

Chairman, Miranda Shirnia, said: “This truly is a very exciting year for the Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival.

“We are delighted to be launching our new Dance section and are looking forward to welcoming performers and audiences to our new festival home, The Deanery, in Wichelstowe.

“Its performance spaces are outstanding and can easily accommodate our growing festival."

Over the years since it was started in 2005 as a music and art event, it has grown and speech and drama sections have been added to the programme.

This year a dance competition has been included with classes for ballet, tap, choreography, classical and cabaret.

It follows the success of musical theatre classes that were launched last year.

And there will be more new music classes including ukulele, acoustic guitar and mandolin.

Miranda said: “At a time when many festivals in the UK are struggling, The Royal Wootton Bassett Arts Festival continues to grow, supporting and promoting the Arts in our community.

“Whether you would like to enter one of our many classes or simply want to come along and see the passion and dedication of our performers, all are welcome.”

Timings for the competition have also undergone a change

Miranda said: “All music classes will now take place over one weekend.

“For many years most of the music took place in the summer with Classical Guitar in the autumn.

“But from 2020 onwards all of our music classes will be on the same musical weekend.”

This year's event was launched last week with a festival highlights concert featuring some of the performers from last year, including pianists, actors and verse speakers.

The festival runs in November but the closing date for all entries is on September 30.

Music and dance classes run on November 21 and 22, the classical guitar competition is on November 14 and musical theatre section is on November 14 and 15.

The speech and drama section of the festival is on November 16 and 17.

A syllabus is available detailing the requirements for the different classes and grades.

Visit rwbartsfestival.com for more information, entry forms and tickets.