YOUNGSTERS at a Gourock primary school had a great time performing their musical, ‘Pirates of the Curry Bean’.

Principal teacher and show coordinator, Christine Murray, said it involved 105 children in Primaries six and seven and was produced by a large, hard-working and dedicated team of teachers and support staff.

Former pupils who are now at St Columba’s High made up the band, along with other St Ninian’s staff.

Ms Murray said: “The audience was taken on a nautical adventure involving pirates, a distant land called Lumbago in the sea of Sciatica, as well a hidden treasure chest and a huge surprise for a family who think they have lost their father at sea.” She said rehearsals took place after school for many weeks, and the children worked really hard on their lines to get everything ready for the three performances.

Mrs Murray said: “Parental help in providing the costumes has been very much appreciated by the teachers, and all children involved most certainly looked the part.

“The whole school was treated to a dress rehearsal where children wore pirate hats to get into the swing of things, and other lessons in the school have been based around the theme of pirates.

“Teachers managed to incorporate language, maths, art, technology, geography and music into the context of ‘Pirates’, and this has made learning fun and relevant for all concerned.” Ms Murray added: “Putting on a show like this, which we do every two years, is always a mammoth task for all concerned, but we always find that it is worth it in so many ways “The whole school is buzzing during ‘show week’ and the children gain so much from the opportunity of being involved in such an enterprise in terms of growing in confidence and knowing that they have worked together to produce such a special event.” See today's Tele for full pictures.