WHEN I asked the youngsters at St Wilfred's RC School in the Groves, York, if they could tell the story of Little Red Riding Hood, I was faced with a barrage of hands.

But that could be because when I dropped in at the school yesterday about 100 of the Key Stage One youngsters aged seven and under had just watched a special performance of the traditional children's tale.

The pupils were among thousands from 50 of York's schools taking part in Arts Alive Week, organised by City of York Council's arts and culture team.

The youngsters worked alongside artists, dancers, musicians and actors in a line up of activities based on playtime.

They included a puppet show based on Little Red Riding Hood, inventive puppetry and original music, a performance of Latin and Ballroom dancing to the music of a live band and a Bhangra and Bollywood dance workshop.

The aim of the event was to develop pupils' abilities in music, dance, drama and visual arts.

Alison Goffin, the council's Art Education manager, said: "Live Arts Week complements the pupils work within the curriculum. It brings many of the subjects the pupils are studying alive and encourages their interest in the arts while helping to instil teamwork, concentration and confidence."

Head teacher Colm Flanagan said the school had taken part in the initiative for a number of years and the children get a lot out of it.

He said: "We believe in trying to allow the children to see as many live performances as possible because it adds an extra curricular dimension, the group put together a good package and we're very happy with it.

"We spend so much time on English and maths as part of the curriculum and this kind of programme takes the pressure off the curriculum. Lots of children get the opportunity to go to the cinema and the theatre, but others don't so this also helps in that regard."

What the children thought...

Seven-year-old Prahalad Nadella said: "I love Little Red Riding Hood, I have four stories in a book at home and that is one of them. I like the big bad wolf the best."

Scarlet Herron-Ward, seven, said watching the actors perform had made her want to be an actor. "I love performing and especially singing," she said. "Red Riding Hood doesn't really scare me, but it scares my brother who's one, because he gets scared a lot."

Alessandro Scanu, five, said: "I liked it, but I'm not going to be an actor, I want to be a train driver."

Patrick Hall, six, said: "I liked it, but not as much as Harry Potter."

Rosemol Manoj, six, said her favourite story was another animal based tale - Beatrix Potter's The Tale Of Squirrel Nutkin. She said: "But I did like Little Red Riding Hood because it was funny."

Updated: 11:16 Wednesday, February 15, 2006