Pupils at a Lichfield school have been having fun learning circus skills that could help to improve their co-ordination.

Youngsters at Maple Hayes School in Lichfield traded their pens and pencils in for the day for spinning plates and stilts when they received a visit from a circus entertainer.  Alex Pletscher from visiting  'Circusology' demonstrated his skills at juggling, plate spinning and riding his 5feet high giraffe unicycle. After the display the children were given a lesson in juggling and were invited to try all the equipment themselves. Principle of the school, Dr. Neville Brown said: "The children had great fun unaware that the skills they were learning helped to promote their concentration and hand-eye coordination. Alex was greeted with great enthusiasm and every child, irrespective of their ability, had great fun being circus performers for the day.

Maple Hayes school specializes in teaching children with dyslexia. Individuals can often have problems with physical coordination that can lead to lower self esteem but Dr. Brown is passionate in his belief that with correct nurturing, children with dyslexia can reach their full potential. The school has enjoyed great success this year achieving a 100% GCSE pass rate.