SIR – In the preceding month or so, many proud parents and grandparents will have enjoyed various end-of-school term productions. All of these form the culmination of many hours of meticulous and dedicated planning and voluntary effort from teachers and pupils alike.

Hopefully the end product is fun for all concerned, but beyond this they are an invaluable educational resource, teaching and developing latent talents, confidence, self-respect, teamwork, reliability and much more. Primary school productions can propagate all the above and be utterly charming for the audience. However, secondary school productions inevitably need to rise to higher standards of performance and production values etc.

Last week, I had the enormous pleasure of being part of a capacity audience enjoying a performance of Oliver! at the Bradford Academy in East Bowling, which was of professional standard in every respect, from simple but effective scenery and set-changing, through the effective use of technology and the benefits of a state-of-the-art theatre, to the outstanding musical and dramatic abilities of the whole cast and production team.

All concerned certainly did themselves proud and I hope they gained satisfaction commensurate with the pleasure of those privileged to watch.

Many thanks and very well done!

Malcolm Collins, Flockton Road, East Bowling