Keiss Primary School's Christmas Review

21st December 2013

Photo Gallery

Reporter Noel Donaldson

REHEARSALS for Keiss primary school's annual Christmas concert had to be curtailed because of an inspectors’ visit but the audience would never had known had head teacher Maureen Miller not included it in her announcements before curtain up.

The pupils and teachers always rise to the challenge which must be a considerable one as the programme has to be incorporated in their normal work and take count of such unknown factors such as inspectors’ visits.

There was some traditional fiddle music to open with and then Primaries 1 and 2 left us in no doubt as to the time of year with their fun-filled reindeer hokey-cokey, complete with antlers. We had Highland dancing and ballet turns in the varied, 90-minute programme but the festive season was rightly never far from centre stage, and what could be more appropriate than the Yule Tide favourite “A Christmas Carol”. Of necessity, the stage version of Charles Dickens classic had to be condensed, but Primaries 6/7 captured the spirit in their heart-warming one-act play.

It illustrated how a greedy,grasping, self-centered, tight-fisted, humbug of a business man, Ebineezer Scrooge was persuaded, with the aid of some ghostly visitations, to see the error of his ways and transformed into a convivial fellow, clutching Christmas to his hitherto hard heart and entering into the spirit of the festival, wishing peace and goodwill to all... many bewildered by his conversion.

A difficult task this, to do in short compass, but the young actors succeeded in getting the moral of the story across with attention to detail such as Jacob Marley's chain, imaginatively represented by, a paper chain - what else!, and were well rewarded with warm applause.

In another seasonal item, the entire school roll came together, to tell us in different languages how various nationalities wish Merry Christmas.

The inspectors have yet to report on Keiss school's educational progress, but I have no hesitation in awarding them full marks for this year’s stage performance.

See photos in the gallery - link top left.