Pupils at a school in Warminster have successfully staged a West End musical with just 24 hours of rehearsal time.

Students from Warminster School performed Grease at The Athenaeum on Saturday night, just 24 hours after being told what they were going to tackle.

The idea was the brainchild of director of music at Warminster School Brian Martineau to help fund the school choir and jazz band’s tour to Italy in July.

The group of 48 students and seven staff will be playing concerts in cathedrals, churches, piazzas and squares in Rome, Sienna, Pisa and Florence.

Mr Martineau said: “It was an opportunity for them to work together in a group in a stressful environment. It was a good bonding exercise.”

Mr Martineau, who produced the show with choreography by Bee Partington, was pleased with the performance in front of a sell-out crowd at the theatre He said: “It was an absolutely amazing performance. The kids did incredibly well and all the lead roles learned their lines.

“The children are still buzzing. It’s a very bouncy musical and it’s one that I thought they could get their teeth into.

“They knew the concept of the film and the image more than anything. They knew the song Greased Lightning too.

“We started rehearsals at 7.30pm on Friday and worked right through until 2am. They we were back in at 8am with a full dress rehearsal at 4pm and the performance at 7.30pm.

“They really notched it up for the performance. They were helped by the fact it was a sell-out crowd.”