London show Billy Elliot stuns students

Students from Whitworth Community High School outside the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios

Students and teachers were moved to tears while watching a performance of Billy Elliot in London’s West End.

They savoured the atmosphere of the capital in a dramatic three-day performing arts visit to London.

The 58 students from Whitworth Community High School went to two shows, Billy Elliot and Matilda, a combat workshop at Pineapple Studios, got to meet and talk to professional actors and rounded the trip off with a visit to the Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios.

For Year 8 students Grace Prime and Jessica Greenwood, both 13, it helped them to decide to take Performing Arts as one of their GCSE options.

Grace said: “Billy Elliot was inspirational and also factual and it explained about the miners’ strike and also the stereotypes about how life was.”

Both Grace and Jessica said they were almost ‘spoilt’ by viewing Billy Elliot first because Matilda, although good, did not compare.

As both live productions also had hitches, a technical problem and lines being forgotten, they both learnt how the professionals cope and that the show still had to go on.

When not in the theatres, students spent time in Covent Garden and Leicester Square, dined at the Hard Rock Café and while at Planet Hollywood fellow student Isaac Bagshaw celebrated his birthday with a special cake and a mention on the big TV.

“We learnt how to stage fight in the combat workshop,” said Grace.

“It was just like a magic trick,” said Jessica.

As Grace is a massive Harry Potter fan she was in her element on the studio tour.

“We learnt about green screens and how easy it can be to demolish a set quickly,” she said.

“We went in the Great Hall and were surprised to find that it is a real set, but there is no ceiling on it so that is where the computer generated imagery comes in.”

Both agreed it was an amazing school trip.

Grace, who has previously had roles in Bugsy Malone with Whitworth Amateur Dramatic Society and in school’s version of High School Musical hopes to have a career in performing arts.

Alex White, Performing Arts Teacher, said: “A fantastic time was had by all and the students were a credit to the school."