Schoolchildren will benefit from top class arts based education thanks to an ongoing tie-up between an Ellesmere Port theatre company and the town’s oil refinery.

Action Transport Theatre, based in Whitby Park, and Essar at Stanlow have announced they are to continue to partner together on activities focusing on creative education in their local community.

Among their plans this term Essar will be supporting the theatre to provide three days of performances and workshops in Elton Primary School.

The project follows on from several years of collaboration between the theatre and the oil company with previous initiatives including training a number of teachers in the town to use creative techniques in the classroom and supporting a group of performing arts students at Cheshire College South and West to tour an original play around local primary schools on an annual basis.

Action Transport Theatre's Victorian home in Whitby Park

Action Transport’s artistic director Nina Hajiyianni said, “We’re delighted to continue our partnership with Essar at Stanlow whose support and funding allows us to educate and inspire hundreds of schoolchildren in our local community each year.

“We’re particularly excited that this latest project will give every single pupil at Elton Primary the chance to engage with some really high quality theatre and, through the workshops, to explore strategies to cope with their feelings.”

Victoria Carr, headteacher at Elton primary, added: “We are thrilled to be working with such talented and creative people as Action Transport Theatre and their affiliates and delighted to have such a super project funded by our neighbours at Essar. I am sure that our children will gain a great deal from this on a number of levels, and very much look forward to the outcomes.”

The news of the continued partnership follows the announcement of Action Transport Theatre’s ambitious development plans with the theatre company in the running for £3.37m of government funding for ‘vital’ transformation work at their Whitby Hall base.

Their call on social media for residents and fans to sign their letter of support saw them gather more than 1,000 signatures in just five days.

Ian Cotton, head of communications and community at Essar, said, “We have a long-standing relationship with Action Transport Theatre and are pleased to be able to support the great work they continue to deliver in local schools.”