SPECIAL and secondary school pupils from York can be seen here performing a unique version of Mozart's opera, The Magic Flute.

The performance was the result of a two-week collaboration led by Opera North and supported by City of York Council's arts service. The two groups were aiming to encourage pupils from mainstream and special schools to work together in a creative environment.

The pupils wrote their own words, movement and music and designed and made their own props for the performance, at the National Centre for Early Music, in Walmgate.

Gill Cooper, the council's head of arts, said of yesterday's performance: "It was a wonderful opportunity for the young people to meet each other, to work together and to share a creative experience."

Updated: 11:51 Saturday, January 25, 2003