On Friday 26 March, the girls in Year 3 performed their pantomime, Sleeping Beauty.

Despite only having been back in school for 13 days before their dress rehearsal, the girls gave fabulous and confident performances.

In January and February, during lockdown, Music, Drama and Dance lessons were used to rehearse the pantomime and the girls did amazingly well to learn songs, dances and dialogue from a screen!

We were so impressed with the girls’ motivation, enthusiasm, teamwork and sense of fun and it was a pleasure to work with them. The pantomime included all the traditional elements: well-loved songs such as ‘Oh What A Night’, McFly’s ‘Happiness’ and ‘Isn’t She Lovely’, joyous dances, cheesy panto jokes, comedic timing, slapstick humour, audience participation (“Oh no you’re not!”) and the obligatory happy ending. Huge thanks must go to ‘Costume Carole’ for making such beautiful costumes for the girls and to Mr Woods for the stunning set, complete with a spinning wheel and castle side flats. Thanks must also go to Mrs Knights and Miss Messer who were fantastic ‘stage-hands’ behind the scenes, never missing a scene change cue or a prop!

Unfortunately, we were unable to welcome family and friends into school, due to Covid restrictions, but the pantomime was filmed for everyone to enjoy. Year 4 girls were so excited to be invited to watch and were the most supportive, appreciative and vocal audience we could have hoped for! The look of joy on their faces as they watched was simply heart-warming, bearing in mind it has been a long time since they have seen any live performance.

Huge congratulations to the cast for their wonderful performances. We felt so proud watching the girls on stage and could hear every word they said. They really were amazing for girls of such a young age. With our focus on the girls’ mental health since our return to school, the pantomime really did highlight how singing and dancing can improve our sense of happiness and wellbeing.

Mrs Millard and Mrs Bazley