Music and drama planned for royal visitor

Brazilian dancing, drama and music will all be part of the welcome for HRH the Earl of Wessex next week (Wednesday, 16th July 2008) when he visits the Minster School, Southwell.

Headteacher, Mr Blinston said it is an exciting time for the school and hopes every pupil will have a chance to see the royal visitor.

He said: "It's the culmination of a year in which we have moved into the new school and all the work has now been completed. We're in a new building but our origins were in the nave of the .Minster some 700 years ago, so it seems appropriate that we have this celebration in the same year as the Minster marks its 900th anniversary."

The Earl of Wessex will be welcomed by hundreds of pupils outside the school, when he will also be greeted by local councillors, school governors and the Bishop of Southwell & Nottingham.

His tour will include an introduction to the school’s international work and its global links, including Brazil and Uganda. Poetry and art will also be on show with pupils and staff talking about their work.

He will also be looking around Nottinghamshire County Council's new £83,500 mobile youth centre, which boasts a wide range of activities for Newark and Sherwood young people and will be parked in one of the school courtyards.

Councillor Joyce Bosnjak, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People at Nottinghamshire County Council said: “It will be a great honour for our youth workers to give the Earl of Wessex a tour of the new mobile vehicle and demonstrate the activities and services available which meet the needs of local young people.”

The school's open amphitheatre space will provide a venue for a Brazilian dance performance and this will be followed by a drama called 'The Plough Play' which will form part of Lincoln and Southwell's Mystery Plays. After a musical performance by school musicians and choir, the Earl of Wessex will be invited to unveil the official plaque at about 1pm.

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