West Rainton, Houghton-le-Spring DH4 6RN
Performing our dance routines on the stage of the Gala Theatre in Durham city is one of our favourite events of the year. This time, we took our Y6 class to reprise their performance of ‘The Greatest’ by Sia. That was followed by a ‘Mary Poppins Medley’ performed by a KS2 dance team who scooped the award for ‘most energetic routine’ on the day. Well done to all of our dancing stars.
We were delighted to welcome our friends from M&M Productions to perform for us again in school. This year we were treated to a performance of one of our favourite texts; The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. After the show, Year 4 enjoyed a stagecraft workshop, learning all about how to put on a show.
Thank you for another brilliant performance!
This year, we were delighted to work in partnership with the residents and staff of Springfield Lodge residential home to perform a joint Nativity play for our community in St Mary’s church. As part of our dementia friendly action plan, we spent valuable time learning from, and about, each other as we rehearsed. The event was one of the highlights of our Christmas.
Pupils from years three to six practised and performed a highly professional production of Disney’s and Cameron Mackintosh’s ‘Mary Poppins Jr’. Taking on such an iconic show, we were determined to do it justice. We spent hours rehearsing songs such as ‘Chim Chimney’, ‘Spoonful of Sugar’ and ‘Let’s Go Fly a Kite’, and all the hard work paid off with rave reviews from our sell-out audiences. Well done Key Stage Two- you were ‘practically perfect’!
Pupils from Nursery to Year 2 took part in two fabulous Nativity plays for families and friends. Our EYFS pupils put in hours of rehearsals to tell the story of Jesus’ birth in ‘A King is Born’. Attention then turned to our Key Stage 1 pupils who put on a very ambitious and creative play called ‘Lights! Camel! Action!’ in which the birth of baby Jesus is set around a theme of Strictly Come Dancing! What a fantastic start to our performance season!
Year 5 pupils put on an outstanding 30-minute version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth as part of the Shakespeare Schools’ Festival at the Gala Theatre in November. Their performance, after months of hard work, was flawless and they were loud, clear and expressive in their speaking. We are incredibly proud of the whole cast and crew team who showed true professionalism throughout.
Wow! Our Key Stage Two dancers stole the show at the Durham Primary Dance Festival to end the term with a bang! Our routine to ‘This is Me’ from The Greatest Showman had the audience screaming and cheering with delight. That was after an awesome display by Year Six to ‘Ego’ which scooped the award for most original routine. Well done to all- you were AMAZING!
Pupils from 2-11 years old took part in our annual dance assembly in spring 2018. Once again, it was one of the most well-attended events of the year and we had a whole load of fun developing our dances through PE lessons to be ready to perform. We can’t wait to show two of our performances at the Durham Primary Dance Festival later in the term.
Pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 had a wonderful opportunity this spring to perform with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment in Durham Cathedral. They spent a few weeks practising The Fairy Queen, based on the story of A Midsummer Night’s Dream and the music of Henry Purcell, before the performance, in Durham Cathedral, took place on 7th February.
Here are some images of our final performance:
EYFS and Key Stage One worked incredibly hard all term to bring us two amazing productions of the Nativity. A traditional view from the early years team was incredibly well received by families of nursery and reception. This was followed by an ambitious retelling of the Nativity by Years 1 and 2 in a production of Baubles!
The following week saw Key Stage 2 take to the stage with two sell-out performances of ‘A Christmas Carol’. The rousing choruses and enthusiastic dances got us all in the mood for the Christmas celebrations. An incredible way to end a vey busy term. Thank you very much!
