Grasmere School's modern-day take on the classic Nativity story

  • Video report by Ralph Blumson


It's a Nativity play but almost certainly unlike anything you've seen before.

The pupils of Grasmere School took to the great outdoors to put on their show because of the Covid-19 restrictions, and it's been turned into a film for us all to enjoy.

Children and teachers have produced a modern version of the well-known Nativity story to bring a bit of festive fun to the community after a tough year. It asks how the birth of Jesus Christ would play out if it occurred in rural Cumbria in 2020.

The film is set during to the coronavirus lockdown, with hotels closed. Pupils from the school play Mary and Joseph, who ask an hotelier for a room for the night but are turned away at the door. They eventually find a place to stay in a nearby barn provided by a local farmer. 

Mary and Joseph. Credit: Grasmere School / Gorgeous Media

Headteacher Jo Goode said: "Well we obviously cant do a play in church for our community as we normally would and we're really missing our community because we're normally a school that's very much integrated into our community so we wanted to make a film for them."

The screenplay was written by ten-year-old Hope Basham. She told ITV Border: "Writing the screenplay was so exciting to do but also really stressful.  It's really about cheering up the public and we're trying to give this as a present, a Christmas present to the public to sort of cheer everyone up."

  • Watch the full film here.