On December 18, the children from the God's Gang after-school club went to the Devonshire Park Theatre in Eastbourne to see Jack And The Beanstalk, starring Melanie Stace.

They were obviously very excited, especially as they knew their teacher, Mrs Barnes, had a great surprise waiting afterwards.

The performance was brilliant and the children had a fantastic time and made lots of noise with their "Oh, no, he didn't" and "He's behind you".

After the performance, they were itching to know what the surprise was. They waited in their seats and who should come out to meet them but the star herself, Melanie Stace.

She chatted easily to the children and they were absolutely besotted with her. She has such presence - a true star. Melanie signed programmes and even had her photo taken with the children.

The next day at school, they were the envy of all their friends, showing off their autographs and pictures.

They had a fantastic evening and Mrs Barnes, Mrs Weaver and Kris enjoyed it, too.

-Beverley Barnes, teacher, Annecy School, Sutton Road, Seaford