Children's panto axed in favour of exam

A Primary school has cancelled its Christmas pantomime so that pupils can concentrate on preparing for next year's national English and maths tests.

Hillcross Primary School in Morden halted rehearsals of the panto, to be performed by its six- and seven-year-old pupils, after acting head Julian Greenfield told parents: "We need to minimise the time away from the normal curriculum timetable, with the aim of raising standards."

The decision was greeted today with dismay by some parents - but others praised Mr Greenfield. Tanya Wallace, 36, a mother-of-three from Morden, said: "I think it's crazy. It's Christmas. The children work hard all year and should be allowed some time to have some fun."

Debbie Churcher, 28, a chef and motherofone from Morden, said: "It's a real shame for them to have to miss out."

In a letter to parents, Mr Greenfield said: "While we very much value the contribution these events make, we have decided, on reflection, to aim at achieving the very best we can in Key Stage 1 Sats. For the same reason, we will not be having a winter pantomime this year." London primary school league tables published yesterday showed Hillcross fifth from bottom in Merton for results in Year 6 last summer.

Parent-governor Jane Scott said 97 per cent of parents backed Mr Greenfield's decision to scrap the Year 2 pantomime, which was introduced last year. Mrs Scott, 44, a teacher, said: "It's not like it's a long running tradition. The children do lots of events at Christmas. For example, the younger years are doing a nativity play and we have a Christmas carol concert. I feel the decision was for the absolute best."

Dave Hill, director of schools at Merton, said there were lots of events at the school, adding: "The idea that Christmas has somehow been cancelled isn't anywhere near reality."

He said there was no "unsatisfactory" teaching at the school and it was a matter of "squeezing out one or two per cent extra" in terms of performance.