| Who Cancelled Christmas! | |
|  | | The kids wrote, performed and produced a 20 minute Christmas play. |
| | Eight visually impaired young people from a school in Exeter have written and produced a radio play about a creature who hates Christmas. The youngsters also perform in the play, which is to be broadcast by the BBC. |
| | | Children at a school in Exeter have written, produced and starred in a Christmas radio play to be broadcast across Devon.
It's part of a creative writing project involving children from the West of England School for Young People with Little or No Sight.
The play, 'Who Cancelled Christmas', will go out on BBC Radio Devon on Christmas Eve.
It's also available on CD through Talking Newspapers for the Blind and across the world right here on the BBC Devon website.
The play is about two children who go into haunted house and let out a creature who hates Christmas...but there's a happy ending when the children then rescue the day.
As well as the play, the youngsters also worked on a number of short stories and poems which have been recorded for radio.
 | | The project ended with a tour of the BBC studios in Plymouth. |
It's been a real achievement for the children involved who individually have a range of special needs and abilities.
The project was set up by BBC Radio Devon's Action Desk, which is run in partnership with CSV Media.
Having recently set up its own radio station,'VI Radio', the West of England School was keen to be involved.
And working with the BBC has added a new dimension to the kids Autumn project.
Teachers Simon Hindle and Jonathon Davison were keen to rise to the challenge and with the help of eight pupils, they wrote, performed and produced the 20 minute Christmas play. "Immediately there was an excitement amongst the children that their work would be heard on the BBC," said Simon.
 | | Writing the play was a real challenge for the youngsters. |
"It raised the stakes for them and encouraged them to push themselves creatively." In December 2004, the children and their parents, along with school staff, were invited to spend the day at the BBC studios in Plymouth.
The children gave a short presentation of their work and had the chance to tour the studios.
As a result of this project, the BBC Radio Devon Action Desk is developing a placement for students at the school who have an interest in radio production.
Another possible spin-off is an accredited course in radio production, which may soon be offered as a qualification for older students at the college.
If the course goes ahead BBC staff will be encouraged to volunteer a few hours of their time to help pass on their skills in radio production.
Article first published: 17th December 2004
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