Our talented young thespians have put on another spellbinding performance on the stage.

The occasion was a stunning performance of Macbeth by pupils in Year 7 at Highfield and Brookham School at The Hawth in Crawley on Tuesday as part of a project run by the Coram Shakespeare Schools Foundation.

Last year, Highfield and Brookham was named a ‘Gold Shakespeare School’ for performing Bard plays publicly for seven consecutive years as part of the foundation initiative, with last year’s cohort tackling classic comedy A Midsummer Night’s Dream at Leatherhead Theatre.

And the current Year 7 children continued that golden run by proving again that they have a real penchant for the Bard’s work by putting on another polished adaptation in the 900-seater auditorium in West Sussex.

The adaptation was all put together in just six weeks under the expert guidance of Sarah Baird, Head of Drama at Highfield and Brookham, with the dedicated children using every spare minute they could find, including break times and lunchtimes, to learn lines and rehearse to bring the characters of Macbeth, Banquo, Macduff, Lady Macbeth and Malcolm to life in stunning style on the Hawth stage.

There was also plenty of technical nous and expertise required by pupils backstage to portray the eerie and iconic opening scene with the three witches, and to help with the atmospheric portrayal of the Scottish castles at the heart of the gripping tale.

Furthermore, the talented children performed in front of proud Head Suzannah Cryer, who described watching the play unfold as “mesmerising”.

She added: “To watch the children perform on a big stage like the Hawth with such ease, confidence and passion was nothing short of incredible for such young people. The work that went in to produce such an extraordinary performance of Macbeth on stage and behind the scenes is truly remarkable and I couldn’t be prouder.”

Highfield and Brookham has a strong reputation of dramatic excellence and the school prides itself on each of its 10 year groups performing at least once during the school year, culminating in Year 8 taking to the stage for the final time in July; last year putting on a spectacular performance of Bugsy Malone.