Students have spread a message of empowerment over three days of performances of a well-loved upbeat musical.

When people think Legally Blonde, images of Reese Witherspoon in the iconic early 2000s film come to mind as opposed to the popular Broadway musical.

But, pupils at William Howard School are giving audiences in Brampton a crash course in this fun musical with a positive message of empowerment.

Kayla Halliwell, 16, from Linstock, said: “When they first told us, I had heard of it but I had never listened to any of the songs but then I started to listen to it and loved it.”

Lewis Logie, 18 from Brampton, said: “Legally Blonde is about a girl called Elle who is in a Sorority and she gets dumped by her boyfriend Warner, who I play, then he goes off to Harvard and she follows him to Harvard to try and get back with him.

“Even though no-one believes in her she ends up pulling through and coming into her own to develop a good law career.”

The entire musical is fun, upbeat and doesn’t take itself too seriously despite being about law school and romance.

Armed with a bright pink power suit and a supportive group of friends, the character of Elle turns the often-used caricature of the dumb blonde on its head.

Lizzy Trenell, 18 from Warwick Bridge, is embodying the spirit of Elle for the two days of performances.

She said: “It has such a powerful message that I love so that’s why I am enjoying it so much because it’s the whole idea of she goes there to follow a man but she doesn’t need to, she has herself and she is fine.

“I think it’s such a good message for little girls.

“It’s a lot of pressure but it’s so exciting for me being able to portray that and put my own spin on it.

“That’s what I have enjoyed the most, bringing myself into it a little bit, I’ve really enjoyed it.”

Everyone is excited to finally have reached the pinnacle moment where all of their hard work is finally paying off.

“It’s always a bit nerve-wracking going into the first performance but once the first one is done we will all just get that buzz and feel excited,” said Lizzy.

This one, like many before it, is bittersweet as it is marked with endings and new beginnings.

Lewis and Lizzy have performed in every school production since they started at the school and the curtain call on Friday will be their last.

Lewis said: “I think it’s good to see a few up and coming people getting involved and younger people starting to come into their own.

“I have done every school production so I have done it right from year seven right until now so this is my last one.

“It’s weird, I haven’t really thought about it, I’m just trying to get on with doing it but I think Friday night is when I will feel something about it.”

For students who are only a few months into their time at secondary school, it could seem rather daunting to perform in front of such a large crowd but there were plenty taking it in their stride.

Barbara Hindley, head of drama, said: “I think when they are working with 18-year-olds, there’s something good about belonging to that part of the school because every year group is represented.”

Phoebe Huddart, 11 from Hethersgill, said: “It’s good because we can take part in all of the dances and act out different things.”

Poppy Sisson, 12 from Brampton, added: “You get to be part of something, like all the Delta Nus, and everyone is so nice.”

Over the years, the school has put on productions of countless well-known musicals and plays such as Les Miserables and The Sound of Music.

It is months in the making and takes a whole host of people working behind the scenes to pull it together to make it a success.

Rehearsals, hours of research, and watching previous performances are needed to get it to the point of performance.

Susanna Cooper, the musical director, said: “It’s a really difficult but good show - it’s joyous, it’s funny, it’s fun and it’s all coming together really well.”

Rikki Inglesfield, joint director and choreographer alongside Michelle Serrechia, said: “We picked Legally Blonde because last year we did Les Mis and we wanted something completely contrasting because Les Mis is so iconic it’s quite hard to top really.”

“They all really knew it before we did, really, so they all knew exactly what their characters were like and after each rehearsal they’ve just got better and better.”

At the end of it all, the staff who have worked tirelessly are just proud of what has been accomplished.

“Absolutely and totally proud of my department and the students,” said Barbara.