Pupils at St John’s School, Marlborough, put packed-out audiences in the festive mood this week with their production of panto-classic Cinderella.

Hundreds of people flocked to the school’s Theatre on the Hill on Tuesday and yesterday evening to see the student production and, to the audience’s delight, some teachers took to the stage in surprise roles as visiting princesses.

The pantomime was a combined project for the International Baccalaureate students at St John’s, supported by other students with directors, Sarah Crookall and Polly McNamara, pulling the production together in just a few weeks.

Organisers are expecting that the production will raise around £1,000 for the deafblind charity SENSE.

Lynne Cope, deputy director of St John’s Sixth Form, said: “The students did a fantastic job of entertaining us.

"It was very funny with a great script and some brilliant performances – more enjoyable than many professional pantomimes I’ve seen.”