Grandmothers always said – and probably still do – “All good things come in parcels of three!” This was certainly true of the magnificently successful theatrical presentation by our very own Sibford Gower Primary School on 8th April.

Not in the Village Hall — oh no! Nothing less than the famous stage of the Chipping Norton Theatre. And not just for one performance – certainly not! Bookings were so heavy that a matinee had to be staged to fit everyone in. The smell of greasepaint and the laughter of long ago lingered as the curtain rose and the music swelled.

The Pied Piper was first on the boards. Set in the Market Place with stallholders crying their wares, rats in abundance with lovely long tails thatswished and swashed. The story unfolded over half—an-hour with everyone playing their parts to perfection and rounds of applause as the curtain fell.

Cinderella was next on the programme with all those lovable characters which we have come to know so well. An off-beat production which caused many surprises but the Prince got his girl in the end!

Lastly Rumpelstiltskin proved to be just the right choice to round off a superb programme of entertainment when the audience was invited to join in the fun and singing, as they certainly did – with loud gusto!

How many ‘Mum hours’ went into the making of those lovely costumes? And where did our school find such skilled imagination to make and paint such fantastic scenery? And lastly just where, oh where did one find such talented acting and singing? Having tasted the first-fruits of performance many of the children will surely continue with music and dance study and who knows where that might lead? For above all it is the function of education at all times to light the blue touchpaper of children’s imagination, to give them belief in themselves and to show all that opportunity offers.

Well done everybody! Congratulations to an exhausted but triumphant school-staff. Wonderful!