Snarestone Primary School is raising funds for pupils to stage an outdoor play about the coronavirus pandemic - because Covid rules mean they cannot perform it inside.

The school plans to put on a production of 'WOW, What A Year', next month.

But the fact that it is based on a year of almost complete lockdown has made the school even more determined to take it outside - and make it Covid friendly - as current restrictions mean their school hall is too small.

To do that, the school has called on the help of Measham events management company Radar Events who have offered to gift their time for the June 29 event.

But funds are needed HERE to pay for the company to sort out all of the sound, staging, videography - with any extra raised going towards props, programmes, refreshments and snacks.

Snarestone Primary is noted for thinking outside the box when it comes to organising activities for their children and this is seen as another example of that.

The school's Learning Support Assistant Claire Richardson told Ashby Nub News: "The older children do an end of the year production but none of the year five or six got that chance in 2020, there was nothing at all.

"So when we were looking at what to do this year, we talked about what choices we had.

"But then we came across a play called 'WOW, What A Year!'. It's based on Coronavirus, home schooling, Captain Tom and the impact it has had on everyone.

"So, we decided that, even though we're a little school with no budget, we'd purchase the script to that and the children have gone with it. They think it's amazing, it has quite a lot of humour in it.

Even though we're a little school with a small budget, we decided to purchase the script and encapsulate the memories of the last year. The children have really got into it and think it's amazing, it has quite a lot of humour in it too, which is lovely to see after a difficult year.

"But we don't know what restrictions there will be when we want to put the play on in terms of social distancing and how many people can come to see it.

"Our school hall is really tiny, which means that if we could only have people in family groups, that would restrict it to nine families.

"We considered renting somewhere bigger, but Measham Leisure Centre is being used for vaccinations and a lot of venues aren't hiring out until they know more about what the restrictions will be, the same as we don't know what they will be when we want to put the play on, in terms of social distancing and how many people can come to see it, so we have made the decision to try and put on the production as an outdoor performance.

"But then it was a case of, where can the children change? How can they project their voice outside? And there's only 19 children in the year five/six Kingfishers class, taught by Julie Hession, and in the play, there's more than 50 characters, so they'll have more than one role.

"So we got in touch with a local events company who said they'd donate their time but we'd have to pay for the use of the equipment.

"But we don't have that disposal income, so I asked the head teacher if I could try to raise the money - as the kids deserve it.

"The community needs it, we just need a boost. Hopefully, we'll get there and put on a fabulous production for everyone to remember."

Claire said there would be a few fundraising projects with a difference at the school, which has been part of the village since 1717.

She added: "We're going to have a Break the Rules Day. They've been given a set of rules such as not wearing school uniform, having crazy hair, wearing face paint, eating unhealthy snacks. But they'll have to pay 50p for each rule they want to break.

"The children can also pay £1 to make a teacher break a rule, or £2 for something the head teacher Mr Jewitt has to do!

"As a school, we try to make the children's experience at school a pleasurable one, and not just about learning. There's a family feel here, we've had Ukulele Day, the circus and we also still keep the tradition of Maypole Dancing going.

"We hope to put the difficulties of the last year behind us and give a lasting memory of Covid 19's impact on schoolchildren's lives. The school aims to provide children with more than just a learning experience."

If you want to donate to Snarestone Primary's production, you can do so HERE.