Children will step out of their school uniforms and into glamorous costumes when they perform in a classic opera.

Pupils from St Mary’s & St John’s C of E School, in Prothero Gardens, Hendon, will join the English Touring Opera (ETO) on Stage at the Hackney Empire Theatre in London.

The children, aged six to 11, have been recruited for ETO’s tour to form a children’s chorus of street urchins in a new staging of Puccini’s classic, La Bohème.

They will feature in the second act of the opera, in a Parisian street scene set outdoors on a cold winter’s night around Christmas, watching a Punch and Judy show performed on stage.

During their performance, they will sing a song about ‘Pa’ Guignol, the name of the puppet, and are given presents by the puppeteer who is trying to trick their mothers into buying them for their children.

La Bohème is a story of young love set in Paris in the 19th century, in which poet Rodolfo meets seamstress Mimì and they fall in love, but poverty and ill-health force them apart.

Tim Yealland, ETO head of education, said: “It is fantastic for us to have a dozen talented children from St Mary's & St John's school perform with us in La Boheme.

“Their energy and enthusiasm will perfectly complement the story of Parisian street life in the 19th century, and it is particularly good to be working with this wonderful school again.”