Play it Strange National Secondary Schools Songwriting Competition

The "Play it Strange" National Secondary Schools Songwriting Competition is an annual competition that began in 2004. Hamilton students have had varying success in the competition to date. In the innagural competition, Kimbra Johnson (Hillcrest High) and Emma Amiri-Ghaemmaghamy (Fairfield College) both made the top 10 of the competition with the songs It Takes Time and Soon, respectively. One of their prizes was to have their songs included on the Play It Strange Top 20 Volume 1 compilation.

In 2005, Kimbra Johnson competed again with a song called Reminisce, on this occasion placing in the 31st to 50th place bracket. Zoe Cook (also from Hillcrest High) with Take Your Chance placed in the same bracket.

Hillcrest High also featured in 2006, with songwriters Naomi Perry, Kushal Talele, Simon Roots and Matthew Johnson collectively writing September Sky, which placed them in the 11-20th placed bracket.