A primary school pupil took to the bright lights of the London stage as he performed to thousands of people.

Lenny Rush, a Year Four pupil at Burnham Primary School, Dunkirk Road, Burnham, was a cast member in A Christmas Carol put on at the Old Vic in London.

The independent not-for-profit theatre puts on a range of shows each year.

In January headteacher Kelly Stock was invited to watch Lenny perform.

She said: “Lenny was one of a rotating cast of four young performers with different disabilities who played Tiny Tim.

“He showed amazing confidence performing to an audience of more than a 1,000 and even got to play the final ring in the spectacular hand bell-ringing.

“They began ten hour practices in September and Lenny performed in one to two performances each week.”

Miss Stock said she was very proud of Lenny, who suffers from dwarfism.

She added: “At the end of the night Lenny signed autographs at the stage door and met Rhys Ifans’, who played Scrooge, family and friends.

“During the performance Tiny Tim is described as a ‘cripple’ to reflect the times of the show.

“Thankfully disability is no longer seen as an illness; the school has a number of children with various disabilities and they are often the children with the biggest smiles and hearts.

“The Christmas Carol itself is a story that reminds us it’s never too late to change but especially that great joy can be found in being kind to others.”

In February pupils at the school also took part in a show at the Towngate Theatre in Basildon.

Halstead Gazette:

Pupils in Year Two helped celebrate the 15th anniversary of Starstrucks Theatre School.

Sophie Torrie, Lorna Longley, Jessica Massenhove, Isabella Williams, Olivia Weidenauer and Thomas Oakes performed a selection of songs from musicals.