YOUNGSTERS at Westgate School will start work in the New Year on a ten-week project that will culminate in a performance at Winchester Discovery Centre.

They will present plays exploring the tales of Anansi the Spider in a lottery-funded arts project exploring the theme of slavery.

Winchester-based multicultural theatrical group, Footsteps, will be leading the classes.

Stories featuring Anansi are thought to have originated in Ghana and were carried by slaves being taken to the Caribbean before being brought back to England to become a familiar ingredient in African-Caribbean storytelling in the UK.

It is all part of marking the abolition of the slave trade 200 years ago.

Pupils at Westgate got a taste for the performance potential of the Discovery Centre when they presented some of their drama exam pieces there on its opening day in November.

They performed a wide range of monologues and duologues, ranging from comedy in The Worst Witch' to tragedy in a version of the Greek play Antigone'.

Paul Mills, head of drama at the school, said the pupils were looking forward to performing at the centre again after enjoying it first time round.

"The space felt very pleasant to work in throughout the day and when on stage our young actors' voices came across with clarity and resonance due to the strong acoustics.

"I very much hope our pupils from The Westgate School will play a very active part in the future of this lovely venue at the Discovery Centre and I feel sure that other school and community groups will soon be queuing up to use the space for their own arts projects," he said.