Westergate students spend half-term on Broadway

The group of 21 pupils and three members of staff are spending

half-term studying drama in the home of American theatre.

Their time on Broadway in New York features watching a performance of the razzle-dazzle musical Chicago, meeting the actors to pick up tips from top professionals and learning how to stage fight.

Claire Willis, 16, said: "I absolutely love Chicago. Not one bit is boring. It's funny, too. Going to New York will help us understand drama more.

"We will be meeting actors who are performing every day. It will be even better for the younger students '“ they will be able to enjoy it and also gain from it when they sit their GCSE exams."

Neither she nor fellow GCSE drama student Leah Brown, 15, have seen Chicago on stage. Leah said it would be a treat to watch the movie come to life.

"The songs are really catchy and get into your head. It's a long movie but it flows really well," she said.

Both Claire and Leah have just taken their GCSE exams after two years of studies. Chicago formed part of their final work as well as excerpts from Blood Brothers, which they saw twice, and a drama about wives at war.

The students, aged between 11 and 16, left for New York on Monday and will return tomorrow.

It follows a successful transatlantic journey by previous pupils in 2005 and is the first since the school was given specialist status in visual and performing arts.

Head of creative arts Emma Molineaux-Inglis said: "We like to give students the chance to do different things from which they can learn. Going to New York will be a really exciting chance for them. They will be able to learn about what it takes to put on a play."

The students have already visited theatres in London and Rome.

Back at the school, work to turn its hall into a community arts and performing space should be completed by Christmas.

The scheme was a centrepiece of the school's bid for specialist status.

The area will be the only dedicated performance venue in the Six Villages.