GIRLS in Years 7 and 8 at Hanford School in Child Okeford staged a nativity play which was as much an act of worship as it was theatre, and featured beautiful choral music.
Donald Kittermaster, who was headmaster of The King’s School, Worcester, before joining Hanford to teach English, wrote it for Mrs Canning, Hanford’s founder, in 1960.

The first girl to play Mary was Emma Kirkby, who later became the famous Dame Emma, the great soprano.
The costumes, some of which were given by Lady Rockley from the Amhurst Collection, are used every year and give the play its colour and added sense of authenticity and history.
Mrs Canning, who encouraged girls to develop an interest in art, wanted to recreate tableaus from Renaissance paintings – particularly works by Botticelli, Guido Reni and Murillo.
The play has been performed every Christmas since 1960 and its appeal is timeless.