sports are a traditional strength of the school. In October 2013 Belvedere held the all-Ireland schools senior track and field trophy, having won the title in the previous seven years. It also held numerous other titles at provincial levels. Belvedere has won 35 Leinster Senior Cricket Schools Cup titles, as of 2016. Belvedere, sometimes known as Belvo, has a strong rugby union football tradition, being one of the traditional "Big Three", along with Blackrock College and Terenure College. In 2005, for the first time in the school's history, it won both the Leinster Junior Cup and the Leinster Schools Senior Cup. In 2016 Belvedere, with eleven titles, stood second in the Leinster Senior Cup roll of honour, behind Blackrock College (68). A further success came on 17 March 2017, when Belvedere beat Blackrock College 10–3 at the RDS. Drama Drama productions form an integral part of Belvedere's year. Each academic year, there are four performances: a Junior Musical, a Senior Musical, a Drama Society production, and a First Year Play. Productions have included Les Misérables (school edition) in 2004, and the stage adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials in 2007. Other productions of note include Bugsy Malone, The Adventures of Roderick Random, David Copperfield, Aladdin, Jesus Christ Superstar, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Wind in the Willows, Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, Treasure Island, The Lord of the Rings, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Addams Family, West Side Storyand The Pirates of Penzance. In 2016, an original play entitled Children of the Rising was staged at the school. The play was written by a member of staff and was nominated for a Bord Gáis Energy Student Theatre Award for Best Overall Play. The play was based on the book Children of The Rising by Joe Duffy. Other activities The school has debating societies in the English, Irish, Spanish, German, and French languages. Belvedere has won the all-Ireland schools debating competition (2005 among other years), the Denny Leinster Schools Senior Debating Championship in 2010, the L&H society Leinster Junior debating competition, and also the Alliance Française debating championship and Leinster Irish debating final. Belvedere was successful in the last series of Blackboard Jungle, a popular television programme on RTÉ. The school's longstanding Concert Choir hosts the Annual Christmas Carol Service in December, and the Annual Musical Evening in