In February this year, Upton-by-Chester High School students decamped to The Brindley in Runcorn for the first time to present their school musical The Wizard of Oz.

We invited upper sixth former Claire Brewin, who played Dorothy, to take us behind the scenes.

What do you get when you take 127 high school students, a Cairn terrier and a musical score that has echoed through every western household since 1939 and plonk it on the naked stage?

This February, a keen company comprising children, moody teenagers and big kid teachers followed the yellow brick M56 for Runcorn to discover exactly that.

Kicking off with a vigorous audition process that saw many a quivering knee and chattering tooth, undiscovered talent peeked out from their bushels and found their way onto the cast list for The Wizard of Oz 2014.

Scripts handed out, it was time to start rehearsing.

Pupils, staff and parents alike gave up their well-deserved evenings and weekends to make this show greater than ever.

But why perform a school show in the dimness of the school hall if you can perform it in a professional theatre?

That was the motto Mr Chris Tierney (head of drama) determined. So off to The Brindley we went.

Set, costumes and props finished and packed tightly into the vans of handyman Mr Haven, many a sleepy eye arrived at the stage door of the theatre, ready and raring for the adventures of the week to follow.

Tech sorted. Actors warmed up. Dog fed and toileted… It was show time!

And so with the auditorium filled with eager spectators, the first notes sounded and lights went up - each show with more laughs and cries than the one before. Packed with mischievous munchkins, talking trees and wicked witches, the three nights of wonder were enjoyed by everyone. One small step for mankind, one giant leap for Upton-by-Chester High school was done.

And it was worth every last penny.

What do you get when you take 127 high school students, a Cairn terrier and a musical score that has echoed through every western household since 1939 and plonk it on the naked stage?

Magnificence.