Wardle partners with the Oldham Coliseum and Andrew Lloyd Webber

Louise Rigg, Year 9, who is taking part in the programme, in the school production of Grease

Wardle High School has been selected to engage in a year long partnership with the Oldham Coliseum Theatre, receiving specialist master classes, workshops and access to theatre productions.

Oldham Coliseum has recently received funding from the Andrew Lloyd Webber foundation to deliver a new strand of theatre based activities with schools.

Assistant Head of Creative and Performing Arts at Wardle, Trevor Brown, will be working with the students and running the programme.

Mr Brown said: "I would like to say a huge thanks to Janet Emsley, who put the school forward for this programme.

"I am thrilled to be working with the Oldham Coliseum."

The work can be delivered in school to support the Drama department and in the theatre itself, where students will benefit from behind the scenes access and insight into the workings of a producing theatre.

The aim of the programme is to inspire students through cultural activity, for students to learn and become immersed in a creative process, and for them to gain knowledge and understanding in all aspects of producing theatre. The programme is designed to enable a wide variety of students from the school to benefit from drama and theatre based activity. The partnership will commence in September 2013.

The school will be given 20 free tickets to Coliseum produced shows and 20 students can spend a day at the Coliseum learning about ‘behind the scenes’ at a theatre.

The school will also benefit from six master classes at the theatre, or at school, covering areas such as directing, scriptwriting and costume design.

As a finale to the years’ work a group of students will perform a showcase which will consist of the four schools coming together to perform their pieces as one coherent whole on the Coliseum’s main stage in March 2014.

Several students have been selected, although the school has kept some places open for the new students joining the school in September.