THE festive season began with a fantastical tour of history for pupils at St Ronan’s Primary School.

Pupils from P5-7 took part starring in Jill and Fred’s Hysterical Historical Adventure earlier this month.

The performance – based loosely on a Hollywood blockbuster of a similar name – saw pupils travel back through time with virtual assistant Alexa.

Leading the play were Millie McMath and Finn Campbell – both in P7 – who took on the roles of Jill and Fred.

And despite losing her voice after two nights of performances and an afternoon show, Millie still thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

She said: “It was a great experience.

“We learned all about how to put more expression and helping others.”

When asked what their favourite time periods to visit were, Milly said: “I’d probably say the mummified part, I thought it was really cool.

“They had the knives and the hook up the nose, it was really cool.”

Finn added: “I really enjoyed either the Elizabethan or World War Two, I enjoyed those two scenes.

“They were quite funny, both of them.”

As well as their own favourite eras, Millie, Finn and their fellow cast-mates took a whirlwind tour to the Victorian age – with a very scary teacher and his long-suffering class – and met with soldiers from the First World War during the famous Christmas truce in 1914.

Depute headteacher Jan Lister said: “These performances have been a whole school-community effort.

“Whilst all the credit rightly goes to the children, we could not have staged this without the support of our parents and wider Innerleithen community.

“From help with sound and lighting, photography, hair and make-up to costume making, we are so lucky to have such a supportive community and the whole of St Ronan’s Primary wish to thank you and wish you all a very Merry Christmas.”

The play also told a hidden story for the parents in the room who may worry about how much their children spend on their phones and online.

As the children in the play showed that responsible use of technology can be a very useful tool for learning and that they are ‘#LivingOurBestLives’ as one song went.

After many weeks of rehearsals, and the building of nerves, the pupils all enjoyed the experience of taking part in the play.

Headteacher Caroline Elsey added: “It has been wonderful to feel the excitement building within the school in the run-up to these performances.

“It has been a privilege and a delight to see how the children have grown in confidence not only through the rehearsals but also as our run of shows progressed.”