“I'm not Sandy, or Danny, but I might be a Pink Lady,” my daughters told me as they got into the car after their first day at Flintlock Theatre School's holiday classes (the educational wing of the Oxford-based professional theatre company) held at Oxford High Junior School in North Oxford,

Putting on a play in a week was a big ask by anyone's standards, especially when tackling a mammoth musical extravaganza such as Grease the Musical with children aged 9-13, many of whom had never stepped foot on a stage before.

But, that was the aim, and it was good to sign the kids up to something a bit different during the school holidays, rather than the usual multi-sport options.

Any early apprehensions were soon smoothed over by the all-involving, friendly and enthusiastic Flintlock staff, headed up by the wonderful Robin Colyer, Flintlock's joint Artistic Director, who never patronises his young pupils or dumbs down the work he sets them.

Dropping them off every morning (the classes run from 10am - 4pm but working parents can drop off earlier and pick up a bit later) was a doddle (Flintlock runs different shows on different weeks in different locations) and, as the week progressed my children's enthusiasm remained unabated, as they made friends and disappeared up to their rooms as soon as they got home to go through their T-Bird routines, and I began to look forward to the grand finale for the parents.

It was show time on the Friday afternoon and I was surprised firstly by how many parents and relatives had turned up to watch, filling the school's theatre, and secondly what a buzz there was surrounding the private performance.

When the show started I understood why. Instead of casually trailing through the classic musical, this was a proper, serious, top quality production. Yes there was a lack of boys but everyone had a part to play and the numbers were slick, funny, convincing and polished.

Anyone who hadn't seen Grease could immediately pick up the story, and what had seemed an ambitious project unfolded easily before our eyes. It was an endearing and impressive performance all round.

That Flintlock managed to pull it off at all was one thing, but to do it with such large numbers of children so well in such a short space of time was quite another.

So if you have a week to share over the holidays and want to introduce your child in a fun but professional way, you can't do better than this. It's a win win

This was a really collaborative, involving, all-singing all-dancing production where each child got to shine and fulfil their showbiz dreams and therefore their potential for a week. Invaluable stuff.

FLINTLOCK'S SUMMER HOLIDAY COURSES

3-Day Beginners Musical Theatre Courses: ages 5-8

26 - 28 July | Themed on "DESPICABLE ME" | Oxford High Jnr. Sch. | £125

2 - 4 August | Themed on "PADDINGTON" | Oxford High Jnr. Sch. | £125 SOLD OUT

5-Day Musical Theatre Courses: ages 8-12 & 13-15

1 - 5 August | Themed on "THE SOUND OF MUSIC" | Oxford High Jnr. Sch. | £175

5-Day Film School: ages 8-12 & 13-15

Now in its sixth year, our FILM SCHOOL offers an introduction to working in front of and behind the camera - learn to shoot film from beginning to end. 25 - 29 July | Oxford High Jnr. Sch. | £195

http://www.flintlocktheatre.com/holiday-courses