Members of our school choir enjoyed ‘Defying Gravity’, when they travelled to London’s West End to see the hit musical Wicked.

The 34 children from Firside Junior School had a personal link to the popular stage show, as they had previously performed some of the well-known songs themselves.

“The reason we did the trip was that back in January our choir took part in a Wicked Worldwide Singalong, hosted by Young Voices,” explained our Assistant Head of School, Lucy Seagrave. “This was an online event with a live orchestra.

“The children sang a medley of Wicked songs, alongside more than 350,000 pupils from over 700 schools from across the world, accompanying Emma Kingston (West End’s Elphaba).

“After this event, Kate Thompson, our Year 4 Teacher and Music Lead, started exploring being able to get tickets to watch the West End production in person.

“The purpose was to give our choir an incredible opportunity to experience live theatre with music they were familiar with, having rehearsed it in their choir sessions.”

The theatre trip group consisted of choir members from Years 3 to 6 at Firside, which is a member of the Wensum Trust, while previous events for our school choir have included last year’s Voice in a Million at Wembley Stadium.

“The children thoroughly enjoyed their visit to London to see Wicked, because it was such an amazing and memorable performance,” continued Mrs Seagrave. “For many of them, it was their first opportunity to experience a live, West-End show, which made the trip feel incredibly special and exciting.

“The story was especially relevant and engaging for the students, due to the recent popularity of the films, meaning they were already familiar with the characters, themes, and music, and were excited to see the stage production brought to life.”

“Watching such a professional performance helped deepen their appreciation of theatre and live performance,” she added.

“The entire experience gave the children a wonderful cultural opportunity that they will remember for a long time.”