PUPILS had their imaginations put to the test when they were challenged to create their own theatres.

Last week Marnel Junior School invited Anvil Arts to judge a competition between Year 4 pupils who have been making their own small scale theatres.

Following a special backstage tour of The Anvil concert hall by the school in November, and then a trip to see Peter Pan in December, the children were set the task of making their own theatres, making the structures out of wood and then designed backdrops and characters from the pantomime to fly above the stage.

Michelle Murray, head of year at the Shetland Road, said: “The children were so inspired by their tour of The Anvil and their second visit, to watch the performance of Peter Pan. They thoroughly enjoyed designing and making their own models and this was heightened because they knew that Anvil Arts was coming to judge the competition.

"Working together with Anvil Arts really added an extra dimension to our project and we hope to continue this strong relationship into the future by working with them to gain our Arts Award”.

Flis Pitman, Anvil Arts’ community engagement manager, added “It was a real pleasure to be asked to judge the competition and to see the results of the pupils’ hard work, all inspired by their visits to The Anvil. We are looking forward to working with Marnel Junior School again, and encouraging arts engagement with schools throughout the borough”.