School children from six primary schools across Lowestoft were treated to a bi-lingual play as part of a French Theatre Day held at Grove Primary School.

Nearly 400 Year 5 and 6 pupils from Grove, Westwood, Red Oak, Reydon, Pakefield and Albert Pye primary schools all watched the production, named ‘Parlez-vous Francais’.

The production was delivered by Onatti Theatre Company, and followed the journey of Ben, an English student who finds himself in a French hospital after injuring himself on the first day of a school skiing trip.

The play was delivered by two cast members, one French and one English, and the narrative alternated between the two languages.

The day was organised by Language and Enrichment Coordinator at Grove Primary School, Catherine Godet.

“The aim of the event was to provide pupils with a genuine opportunity to meet and listen to native speakers, as well as promote language learning as a useful but fun and enjoyable activity,” commented Mme Godet.

This is the second year that the Lowestoft hub has organised such a play for its pupils. Last year five schools and 300 students participated, increasing this year to six schools and 400 pupils.

Chief Executive of the Active Learning Trust, Gary Peile, spoke of the benefits of involving multiple schools in the event.

“At the Active Learning Trust, we are keen to use economies of scale to enhance the learning opportunities of the pupils in our care,” said Mr Peile. 

“In this instance, hosting the play in a centralised location and maximising the number of students attending each performance enabled us to substantially reduce costs thus making the experience affordable to a larger number of pupils.”

The event was also praised by Headteacher at Grove, Andrea Hall.

“We were delighted to host the French Theatre Day and would like to thank all the Active Learning Trust schools for supporting the initiative,” said Mrs Hall.

“It was a great opportunity for pupils from the Lowestoft Hub to share an exciting learning experience”.