JOSEPH was ready, Mary was ready, even the shepherds and the sheep were raring to go.
But Whitemoor Primary and Nursery School's nativity play was cancelled after part of the hall ceiling collapsed.
That is until a nearby church stepped in and saved the play.
Staff returned to the school last Monday and found part of the ceiling had fallen in.
The nativity play was cancelled but a nearby church came to the rescue and offered to stage the show, which was held yesterday.mon
Head teacher Judy O'Leary said: "It was pretty shocking when we arrived back from the weekend and saw a large lump of ceiling on the floor.
"We've not been able to use the hall at all and the pupils have to have their lunch in the music room.
"So, we sent a message to all the parents letting them know the performance couldn't go ahead, which was quite disappointing for us as we'd spent a long time putting it all together.
"But one of the governors, Bryan Jones, is a vicar at the Basford Road Baptist Church nearby and said we could hold the nativity there – it was wonderful news and it meant the performance was saved."
Pupils and staff transported the set from the school, in Bracknell Crescent, to the church – a 10 minute walk away. The nativity took place yesterday.
Mrs O'Leary said: "It's not that far to walk, but we do have a teacher set to go on maternity leave after the Christmas break, so we wanted to avoid having a real birth at the nativity if we could help it. About 100 pupils from years two and three had worked hard on the play and it was great they were able to put the performance on."
Alison Smedley, the teacher who is set to have a baby, said: "It was devastating for the children when we thought the nativity couldn't take place.
"It was one of those things that you spend a lot of time working on – we had been putting it together since mid-October.
"We were really grateful for the church's help and the children were delighted."
Six-year-old Mason Wright, who played stable owner Mr Shameel, said: "It was good when the church said we could do our nativity there.
"We had been practicing really hard so it's good we found somewhere else."
