WHEN DIANE ABBOTT heard that a school in Stoke Newington was devising a play to explain the world of finance too children, she just had to see it.

Unfortunately, an over-flowing diary meant that the Stoke Newington and Hackney North MP would have to miss the two-act drama about people applying for bank loans.

But in the best “Let’s do the show right here”  tradition Northwold Primary decided to stage a one-off performance for the MP.

So on an icy afternoon, Diane Abbott entered a large hall full of excited sub-teens to watch Year 4 present the play about financial literacy.

The pupils had been prompted by Create, an arts charity. Shelly-Ann Goulbourne, headteacher of the school, which broke from Hackney council control in 2015, told Loving Dalston that the Create people had thought Year 4 pupils would be too young to work on the project. The helpers were happy to be surprised.

Abbott told the school: “I came specially for this performance and I was very impressed.”

David  Altheer 030218

* Northwold Primary School is in Northwold  Road, Stoke Newington E5 8RN. It broke away from Hackney council control in 2015 to be run by the Amaya Trust. Former students of the school include businessman-TV celebrity Lord Alan Sugar and musicians Marc Bolan and Helen Shapiro.

* Backstory: Company hands schools back to town hall;  Hackney tackles lost boys and girls; Hackney’s next talent generation; Battling against modernity

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