WELLINGTON School is thrilled to announce that one of his students will be part of a BBC drama adaption of a book which was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.

Tom, in Year 9, will be making his professional acting debut as one of the main parts in the upcoming BBC Drama adaptation of William Golding's Lord of the Flies.

After holding auditions for Nina Gold Casting in house at Wellington and outstanding support from our Drama Department, Tom was chosen from thousands of children throughout the UK and has already started filming in Malaysia.

The iconic story has been adapted for television by the multi-BAFTA award winning writer Jack Thorne (His Dark Materials, Help, National Treasure, Enola Holmes) and directed by Marc Munden (Help, The Sympathizer).

Produced by Eleven (Ten Pound Poms, Sex Education) for BBC iPlayer and BBC One in a co-production with Stan, who will air the drama in Australia, filming is now underway in Malaysia. Sony Pictures Television will distribute the series internationally.

A message from the school said: "Congratulations Tom, we are immensely proud of everything you have achieved and look forward to seeing you on our screens soon."

Wellington School's director of Drama, Claire Davies, with Tom and choreographer Dean BramhallWellington School's director of Drama, Claire Davies, with Tom and choreographer Dean Bramhall (Image: Wellington School)

The Lord of the Flies cast, many of whom are making their professional acting debuts, were auditioned following an open casting call, with no prior acting experience necessary.

The process was led by multi-award winning casting director Nina Gold (Game of Thrones, The Power of the Dog, Baby Reindeer).

Tom will play Bill, alongside an ensemble of more than 20 other boys playing the desert island camp’s “big ‘uns” and “little ‘uns”.

Excitingly, the multi-Oscar winning composer Hans Zimmer (Dune, Planet Earth, The Lion King), one of the biggest and highly lauded names in film and television, will co-create the series’ original score with multi- Emmy nominated Kara Talve (Tattooist of Auschwitz, Prehistoric Planet) for Bleeding Fingers Music.

Lord of the Flies is the story of a group of young schoolchildren who find themselves stranded on a tropical island with no adults, following a deadly plane crash.

In an attempt to remain civil, the boys organise themselves, led by Ralph and supported by the group’s intellectual, Piggy.

But Jack, who is in charge of signal fire duty, is more interested in hunting and vying for leadership and soon begins to draw other boys away from the order of the group and, ultimately, from hope to tragedy.

Jack Thorne’s adaptation will be the first for television.

Truthful to the original novel – set in the early 1950s on an unnamed Pacific island – Thorne’s adaptation delves further into the book’s emotive themes; human nature, the loss of innocence and boyhood masculinity.

Each of the four episodes is titled after a character at the core of the story – Ralph, Piggy, Simon, and Jack – offering a subtly different perspective on the boys’ collective plight and manner in which they cope with their predicament.

The series is being made with the support of Lord of the Flies author William Golding’s family.

Director Marc Munden says: “This iconic novel of class, conflict and tender male friendship has never been more relevant.

“It’s a real privilege to be working with Jack Thorne once again, the wonderful cast of young actors we’ve assembled and the brilliant team at Eleven on this beautifully fresh adaptation.”

Lindsay Salt, Director of BBC Drama, says: “We’re delighted to pass the conch to Jack Thorne, Marc Munden and this exceptionally talented young cast of stars in the making, who are telling this timeless story in such an epic and emotionally poignant way.

"Lord of the Flies is British storytelling at its finest and most thoughtful, and there is no better home for its first ever television adaptation than on the BBC.”

The series is filming now in Malaysia, ahead of further filming later this year in the UK.

Lord of the Flies, first published by Faber for what was then an unknown author, has become one of the most popular books on English curricula for the last 70 years. William Golding won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1983.