North coast public primary schools wowed a partisan crowd on Wednesday night with some excellent performances at ValleyFest, a biannual singing, dancing and acting extravaganza held at Byron Bay High School.
More than 540 local public school students took part. The technical management, stage management, audio and lighting was all managed and operated by the Year 11 entertainment class of Byron Bay High School, guided by Mr Paul Todd, the head teacher of creative and performing arts. This was the first time that kids from kindergarten to year 12 were responsible for the whole show.
Artistic coordinator Wil Constable said his main job was to stand at the door in case there were any problems. ‘It was exciting to see our public school students creating, producing and performing a show for their peers, their families and the local community,’ he said. ‘The show provided a great demonstration of the value of the creative and performing arts in the school curriculum.’