Youngsters from an Oxford primary school have teamed up with pupils from a nearby secondary school for a production of Oliver!

Tonight, pupils from St Barnabas Primary School in Jericho and Cherwell School in North Oxford will join forces for a two-hour production of Lionel Bart’s musical.

The co-operation between the two schools is timely, with Oxfordshire’s Rowan Atkinson playing Fagin in Cameron Mackintosh’s West End revival of the musical inspired by the Charles Dickens novel.

Zac Moffat, 10, who plays the Artful Dodger, said: “It's been a lot of hard work, but the singing has been brilliant and the Artful Dodger gets such good songs.”

Tom Guy, 11, who plays Fagin, said: “It's nice to be a respectable, old gentleman. I’ve really enjoyed all the acting and the singing.”

Staff at both schools hope the joint effort will forge stronger links between the two schools and give primary school pupils confidence when they transfer to the secondary school.

More than 100 pupils from St Barnabas School are taking part in the production, which is being directed by staff and pupils from Cherwell School at the Cherwell School theatre.