A SCHOOL celebrated the end of the academic year with a pantomime.

Sixty-two year six pupils at Blue Coat CE Aided Junior School, Newton Hall, who will start secondary school in September, staged a production of Ali Baba on the last day of term.

The school has undergone extensive refurbishment.

Headteacher Gill Gleghorn said: "We couldn't stage the pantomime at Christmas because the hall was out of use so we decided to do it when the Sats were finished.

"The show was a professional one in which I forgot that the performers were all only 11 years old.

"They performed to packed audiences. It was a fun and entertaining performance from all the students, who enjoyed performing to their peers, parents, friends and the wider community. Doing the panto leaves the children who are moving on with a lasting memory.

"We may continue to do it at the end of the summer. There are no rules to say you can't do it in summer.''

Mrs Gleghorn said it had been a successful year for the school, which now boasted "almost an entirely new school building''.

The school has also won a Department for Education and Skills School Achievement Award for the third successive year.

It enjoyed sporting success at the County Durham Youth Games, where its two teams came first and third.

The school also reached the regional finals of the National Schools Hockey Tournament and its year six footballers won the Sunderland Community Trophy.