Cinderella finally goes to the ball at ‘improving’ Belford Middle School
The cast at Belford Middle School were finally able to perform Cinderella after no less than three postponements.
PUPILS at St Mary’s Middle School in Belford have finally performed their Christmas panto... Oh yes they have... after actually staging the show became a pantomime itself, with staff and pupils having to postpone performances three times.
The first threat to the opening night of Cinderella came on December 11, when Ofsted inspectors turned up unexpectedly at the school - forcing all rehearsals for the show to be postponed.
The cast soldiered on, only for a snowstorm to strike on the opening night, forcing a second postponement. Then, after frantic re-arrangements were made, many of the principal players fell ill with flu - things got so bad the whole school had to close a day early for Christmas because so many staff were poorly.
But pupils finally staged a triumphant show - voted the best ever at the school by many - in front of a packed hall last week.
And the icing on the cake was the arrival of the Ofsted report, in which inspectors highlighted the “huge improvements” that had been made at St Mary’s in the past three years.
Having previously been rated ‘satisfactory’ after its last inspection in 2010, St Mary’s has now been classed as a ‘Good’ school by Ofsted, with many outstanding features. Inspectors highlighted the good behaviour of the children as well as their moral, spiritual and cultural development.
“It’s great when someone who doesn’t know the school visits and confirms all the positive things which you think and say about the school yourself,” said head teacher Lynne Brookes. “We were thrilled with the report.”
To celebrate, pupils were treated to their long-awaited Christmas lunch, where staff, governors and members of the Parent Teacher Association were given a standing ovation by the children.
“Our pupils truly are outstanding, and it was heart-warming to see them applaud all those who give up their time to help this school do so well,” Mrs Brookes added. “Despite the fact our Christmas pantomime turned out to be a real performance - in every sense of the word - and despite the fact it was a month late, it felt like Christmas all over again.”
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Weather for Berwick-Upon-Tweed
Sunday 19 May 2013
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