Pupils given the opera-tunity to perform on stage

Pupils from one of England's most deprived areas will take to the stage for an opera performance at Sheffield's Crucible Theatre.

Children in years four and five from Meynell Primary School will perform Henny Penny by composer Julian Philips on Saturday.

The show is part of the annual week-long Sheffield Chamber Music Festival run by Music in the Round.

Toni Howell, assistant head teacher at Meynell Primary School, said: "This is absolutely not on our curriculum but we are all about opportunity here. We really focus on developing personal development beyond the classroom."

According to the government's English indices of deprivation 2025, the Southey Green area where Meynell Primary is located is among the 5% most deprived areas in England.

The neighbourhood is within the 3% most deprived in England in relation to education and skills.

Howell said: "We've got a lot of children who may struggle in the more academic subjects but they're thriving in this musical line and we were able to show them that this is a path they can take.

"They can, if they want to, become a musician and hearing live music and seeing people sing, again it's just an opportunity that we couldn't turn down."

Remedy in year five is one of more than 20 pupils who will be performing, and has embraced the opportunity.

"I think opera is where you can express what you want to sing because you could use an angry type of singing or a loud type of singing because you're basically expressing the story," she said.

Ethan in year four said he felt "nervous" but "excited" about the performance.

"There are going to be hundreds of people I'm going to sing in front of, but I'm confident because I always want to be on stage," he said.

Henny Penny tells the story of a young chicken who believes the sky is falling in when an acorn lands on its head.

As well as Meynell, pupils from Mundella Primary School in Norton Lees in Sheffield have also been selected to take part in the performance.

An original "song cycle" created by Mundella pupils will be premiered at the concert, based on a reimagining of folk tale Hansel and Gretel called Rumours.

Year-five teacher Rebecca Sarich said: "The excitement of hearing their song come to life in performance alongside professional musicians has been an incredibly special experience for everyone.

"It's been lovely to see their enthusiasm build throughout the project. "

Ellen Sargen, composer and project leader for the Music in the Round event, said: "One of the things I think we do best is work with schools that perhaps don't often have these opportunities.

"Music has so much power to help children express themselves and bring them together in new ways that they might not usually get to do in the classrooms and so it's really important to give every child that opportunity."

After the concert on Saturday, Sargen hopes the children will continue to embrace "different music" and keep their "ears open".

"My hope is that they'll continue to be as creative as they have with amazing ideas that are of such value and continue bringing them in all walks of life."

The concert is the penultimate event in the 43rd Sheffield Chamber Music Festival, which runs from 15-23 May.

Claire Booth, winner of the Royal Philharmonic Society's Singer of the Year 2025, is the festival's guest curator and has woven a storytelling theme throughout the programme.

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