When the Siberian blast brought the county to a standstill last week, it could have been curtains for Truro High School’s production of Beauty and the Beast but pupils and staff were adamant that the show must go on and so it did.

While the adverse weather conditions meant waiting until the snows had melted for the magic to happen, the cast of actresses aged ten to 18 were greeted with many rounds of applause from the packed theatre on the play’s opening night marking the beginning of an impressive run of three performances.

Audience members were enchanted by spellbinding performances from girls of all ages with the school’s head girl Savannah Hall, 17, from Truro, taking the lead as Disney princess Belle.

The production also showcased the talent of the school’s young musicians and was accompanied by a live orchestra, led by director of music Rob Norman and comprising largely of GCSE and A Level students.

Backstage, pupils had been hard at work designing and making enchanting set pieces to bring this fairy tale world to life. Larger than life roses and animated films of dancing tableware were just a few of the magical set pieces created in the school’s award-winning art department to help bring the magic of Disney to life on stage.

From sumptuous ball gowns to a handmade horned headdress the school's A level designers also created dazzling costumes.

“Our annual production continues to bring together more and more pupils from all across the school every year,” said head of creative and performing arts, Judith Tutin. “It’s been a real team effort and the stars of the show were not just our actors, but pupils right from Prep School to sixth form in a huge variety of creative arts disciplines.

"The use of animations, projected drawings, hand-made props and stunning couture costumes really brought the characters to life. I was hugely impressed by our orchestra of Truro High musicians as well as the fabulous lighting run by one of our year 11s. It’s not just a wonderful production but a real experience and it’s been a pleasure to share it with so many of our girls.”