HUNDREDS of pupils at Colne Valley High School swapped their exercise books for dancing shoes in a dance extravaganza.

Some 900 Year 7, 8, and 9 children were part of a three-day festival in National Big Dance Week.

The school was the only one in Kirklees to take part in National Big Dance Week. Only a few schools across the country take part.

The event is celebrated by different groups and organisations around the country. The idea behind it is to celebrate the wide range of dance styles happening across the country.

The Year 9 pupils rehearsed and performed a street dance routine.

Then came the Year 8 children, working with a routine in contemporary dance, which they performed for fellow pupils at the end of the day.

Year 7 pupils took on world dance styles. Some groups performed African and Caribbean-style dance, while others entertained their audience with salsa, Bollywood and the samba.

About 900 children took part throughout the week.

Errol Barrows, of Kirklees Council’s Culture and Leisure Department, said: “All the dance tutors are professionals in the dance industry, so the children got excellent tuition and choreography.

“This showed in each of the final performances the children gave.

“The kids have really enjoyed the week.

“This is the second year running the school has taken part in this national event, and so far it has proved a huge success to everyone involved,” added Mr Barrows.

On another day some children at the school were among almost 1,000 pupils from 18 schools in the area involved in the Kirklees Youth Games celebration at the Galpharm Stadium.

See a video of the dancers on www.examiner.co.uk