Why Halifax school's Christmas play could be filmed and shown to millions on TV

Withinfields Primary School entered their original play into the competition and it has been shortlisted as a finalist.

This means the play could be professionally filmed and made available to four million Virgin TV customers in the days leading up to Christmas.

As part of the money-can’t-buy-prize, the winners will work with popular TV entertainer, Stephen Mulhern, who will join the school’s cast playing the role of narrator for a one-off performance.

The winning school will receive £5,000, while a runner up will be awarded £1,000. Twenty two schools will also be awarded £100 for reaching the final stage of the competition.

In response to the competition entry question, “Why should your Christmas play be made available to four million Virgin TV customers this Christmas?”, the school entered their magical Christmas play called “Awesome Austria”.

This promises to tell the story of Eliza, a little girl who is transported to Xafilah (Halifax spelt backwards) by a magical candy cane, and her quest to save Christmas by getting a message to Santa.

In their entry, Withinfields Primary School said they deserved to win because: “Our play is unlike any others! It will contain a mixture of humour, drama and emotion. It's Christmassy with a twist! It'll draw audiences in and get them talking. It will be magical, jaw-dropping, unpredictable and action-packed.

“Our class are highly talented and full of Christmas mirth. We absolutely love performing, and do so at the end of every day during 'Show and Tell.'

“We work as a team, helping and supporting one another. We have full input into our Christmas production from writing the script and assigning roles, to rehearsing and composing dance routines.”

A panel of judges comprising of members of Virgin Media’s Executive Committee, Stephen Mulhern, and Lisa Prime, BAFTA Children’s Events Programmer, will preside over the shortlist and select the winner and runner up.

Virgin Media will then film the school’s production and make it available, on-demand, to millions of Virgin TV customers this Christmas.

David Bouchier, Chief Digital Entertainment Officer at Virgin Media, said: “A huge congratulations to Withinfields Primary School from Halifax for reaching the final stage of our magical Christmas Stars competition.

“Their production has the perfect ingredients for a feel-good festive play which could be enjoyed by millions of Virgin TV customers this Christmas.

“We’ve now got the tough task of choosing a winner from our fantastic finalists – good luck Withinfields Primary School!”