Actors help pupils take centre stage.

Actors from North-East theatre company Northern Stage have taken up a week-long residency in one of the region's schools to encourage students to consider a future in drama.

The residence at Sandhill View Community School in Sunderland is part of the theatre company's education programme which sees it working with students to encourage creativity and build confidence.

Susan Mulholland, the company's schools liaison officer, said: "What makes Northern Stage's residencies different from any other school theatre workshop is that they are so intensive and the results are completely unpredictable.

"The students can spend up to 10 days working with the ensemble and the emphasis is on them creating the final production completely from their own ideas ( they are not simply presented with a theme to base a play on.

"The final piece will not necessarily be a piece of theatre with actors ( it could involve dance, video or original music. The possibilities are endless."

When Northern Stage holds residencies at schools, the final show will come directly from ideas generated by the pupils, who are all aged 14 and 15 years old.

James Andriot, head of drama at Sandhill View, said: "This is an exciting project for the pupils to be involved with ( it will give them a real understanding of what it is like to work in professional theatre and it is also a great boost for their confidence and creativity."

The project builds on the success of the residency Northern Stage carried out at Washington School in July last year when 20 students created a piece of theatre featuring film, movement, original music and drama in just five days.

Actors from Northern Stage will work with a number of other schools in the region this year as part of the company's education programme.