Bedford school is finalist in TV Christmas competition

Priory Primary School entered its play into Virgin Media’s Christmas Stars competition - and the school now has the chance to have its play professionally filmed and televised to four million Virgin TV customers.

As part of the money-can’t-buy-prize, the winners will work with TV presenter Stephen Mulhern, who will join the school’s cast playing the role of narrator for a one-off performance.

The school entered a Christmas play called The Evil Elf. It is about the sneaky plans of an evil elf who wants to steal Rudolph from Santa’s factory and sell him to a billionaire. The rest of the elves must band together to rescue Rudolph get him back to Santa in time for Christmas.

In its entry, Priory said why it deserved to win. “We worked really hard on it and spent a lot of time and effort trying to create original ideas that would entertain, amuse and inspire as many different types of people as possible.

“We are a very diverse school with many different cultures and languages but we love working together to show what peace between people can do. That is also the main message of Christmas so we are the perfect set of people to create that message.”

The winners of the competition will unwrap £5,000 and receive unforgettable experiences thanks to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s hit West End show, School of Rock the Musical. A class from the school will be invited to the show’s Gillian Lynne Theatre in London for an electric, rip-roaring performance masterclass from the cast. Afterwards, the children will also be treated to tickets to watch the blockbuster show and see the talented cast in action.

To keep the Christmas spirit going, School of Rock the Musical will generously give the winning school 10 ukuleles so they can strum their way into 2020.

David Bouchier, chief digital entertainment officer at Virgin Media, said: “A huge congratulations to Bedford’s Priory Primary School for being named as a finalist.

“Its production has the perfect ingredients for a feel-good festive play which could be enjoyed by millions of Virgin TV customers this Christmas. Good luck everyone at Priory."