YOUNGSTERS brought their favourite fairy tales up to date with a spectacular rap performance.

Classics such as three little pigs and gingerbread men were transformed by year one pupils at Longshaw Community Infant school in Blackburn by rapping, using puppets and telling stories in Spanish.

The school hall was packed with more than 70 parents, governors and councillors to watch the three year-one classes show off their new skills.

The school received £3,000 of government funding in addition to the £1,000 of school money to participate in the Creative Partnerships programme.

The four and five year olds have been learning the skills of rapper Ash Nugent and puppeteer Kerris-Casey St Pierre for the past four weeks who helped them prepare for the performance called "Rap, Rhythm, Rhyme – It's Pigs and Puppets Time."

The programme is desi-gned to develop the child-ren's speaking, list-ening and performance skills.

The show started with the youngsters using shadow puppets to tell the story of the enormous turnip.

One class of children rapped the tale of the three little pigs, billy goats gruff and the gingerbread man.

Their teacher, Mrs Catherine Morris, said: "The children have not only become familiar with the tales, but have found a different way of interpr-eting them. The children loved it and have developed a lot of confidence."

The also had the chance to animate their stories with short films.

Goldilocks and the three bears was told partly in Spanish by Miss O'Callaghan's year one class.