THIS week we head back to 1997 when pupils at Yarlside School at Barrow enjoyed their sports day and got to grips with the plays of William Shakespeare.

Not only did they cope with the text, they also presented a shortened version of Hamlet for an audience of parents and friends.

Stephen Phillips took to playing the title character Hamlet in his stride.

He had even learned the whole of the famous 'to be, or not to be' soliloquy form Act 3 Scene 1.

His verdict? “I feel sorry for Hamlet. He tries to get his revenge on Claudius because he killed his father, but he goes way too far.”

Playing opposite Stephen was 11-year-old Lisa Walker as Ophelia.

She thought Ophelia was nice but the character went mad after her father died.

“She thinks Hamlet loves her, but he is horrid to her,” said Lisa at the time. “She just can’t cope any more.”

The villain of the piece was Stephen Kerr, 11, as Claudius. “It’s quite good to play the baddie,” he said. “Claudius kills his brother for the crown. He’s an evil man.”

Although a complex play, the 28 Year Six pupils had a confident grasp of the story and had been studying the characters’ development.

They had caught their enthusiasm from class teacher Claire Waplington, who had shown the children a video of Macbeth the previous year. “They really enjoyed it so this year I decided I would include Shakespeare in my plans and make a mini project using Hamlet," she said.

“The language is very difficult but I was amazed how many of them picked up the story straight away.”

She whittled the long play down into just 30 minutes and the children were so enthusiastic to take part she had to hold auditions.

Headteacher Barbara Lowes was very supportive of Miss Waplington’s plans. “I thought it was very ambitious,” she said, “but I knew how conscientious and enthusiastic she is and when teachers are enthusiastic about something it gets through to the children.”

Not content with Hamlet, the pupils then got stuck into As You Like it.