STUDENTS at a York secondary school put on an end of term show with a difference.

Joseph Rowntree School would normally have just finished starring in their summer ‘Vaudeville’ show, but had to make other arrangements with the school closed to most students.

Following the success of their last performance, The Addams Family, the school organised a remote summer show ‘Summer Postcards’. Contributions from students ranged from a cover of Seven Nation Army, musical solos to readings from poems and excerpts from prepared GCSE drama performances.

Rachael Clarke, assistant head of Key Stage 3, said: “Our Performing Arts faculty holds such an important role within our school community. 2020 is a special year for us, as it is 10 years since our first Vaudeville production, so it was important to us we continued to share and celebrate the amazing talent of our students. Our concert is live on the school Youtube channel and there is a link for viewers to donate to the NHS charity in lieu of paying for a ticket.”

Head Dave Hewitt, said: "In addition to the school based activities, students have entered and gained recognition in national competitions including ‘Stand up to Racism’ and the Cambridge University Sociology Department’s Photography competition. This prestigious competition draws entries from private and state schools from across the world and we were delighted when the entries from our students received the recognition they deserved."

Jaimie Farquharson in Year 10 won the overall prize with her image and commentary on the changing social norms of mask wearing. Keira Ford also in Year 10, was highly commended for her photograph that captured her family watching the initial Government announcement about the start of the COVID 19 Lockdown and Eve Hutton in Year 12 received a Special Mention for the analysis that accompanied her photograph of empty toilet roll shelves in a supermarket.