Dance the night away to raise cash for school

MORE than 100 youngsters aged three to 11 transformed a church into a spectacular coral reef during their Easter Holiday club at a Huddersfield church.

The event ran for four days at Elim Pentecostal Church’s Grace Centre on St John’s Road and was dubbed the Under the Sea Children’s Holiday Club.

Parents and grandparents joined the youngsters at a special evening finale to see the children showcase their songs, crafts and other activities from their actionpacked week.

The club was themed on the film Finding Nemo and the children were split into five groups.

The groups were: Team Nemo, Crush, Dory, Sheldon and Peach (named after characters from the film), and a dedicated team of over 40 volunteers helped run activities, crafts, messy games and challenges, sketches, songs and Bible stories.

As well as the annual holiday club, which is now in its fifth consecutive year, the church runs a number of term-time activities for children and young people.

The event comes as staff and students are on course to move into the new building at the start of the new term in September – after which their current school building, which dates back more than 50 years, will be demolished.

The new three-storey structure will include facilities for technology, art, music and dramas on the ground floor and two floors of classrooms for subjects such as English, history and RE.

Principal Anita Bodurka said the multi-million pound development meant the college would also have its own sports centre for the first time. “We have had to use two old gymnasiums for many years,” she said. “Now we will have a proper sports centre with four courts and a dance studio as well.”

Contractor Laing O’Rourke began work on the site off Bradley Road last spring and the school has been able to function throughout the construction work. Miss Bodurka said the only disruption was having to demolish the music block to provide enough room for the contractors’ vehicles.

All Saints’ is one of seven Yorkshire schools getting new facilities with support from the government’s Education Funding Agency. The only other one in Kirklees is Whitcliffe Mount School in Cleckheaton.

Miss Bodurka said: “We have done an audit to see what existing furniture is good enough to take into the new building and we are bidding for funds as well as holding the charity ball on May 5.”