PUPILS from a Blackpool school were encouraged to act up recently to help with their studies.

Almost 80 Year Nine pupils from St Mary's Catholic High School, St Walburga's Road, travelled to Leyland for a special Macbeth performance and workshop. The event was run by the C'est Tous theatre company at Leyland's Worden Park.

One pupil, Katey England, said: "Before the play started we had a workshop with the actors which was really interesting. We learned about the different types of swords used in Elizabethan England and even got to try out a few moves with them."

Pupils also enjoyed a dance competition between the girls who pretended to be witches, and the boys pretending to be Scottish thanes, she said.

She added: "The play was a heady mix of blood and guts -- we were gripped. Seeing it performed live has helped me to remember it much better and should enable me to cope more easily with my SATs paper, hopefully!"