A GROUP of Worcester schoolchildren had a royal encounter when they visited a theatre in London this week.

The Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall watched performances by schoolchildren from across the country, including 20 year seven pupils from Bishop Perowne CE High School and Performing Arts College.

The school's assistant headteacher and director of arts Nicola Raggett said the children had had a fantastic time.

"The Prince of Wales and Duchess were very interested in the project and how they had made the masks," she said.

"They spent a good five or 10 minutes talking to them about it, which made them feel really special and important. They were also very enthusiastic about the project and supporting the arts."

The royal couple were visiting the Unicorn Theatre, south London, to see the TheatreQuest project. They saw children put on a fashion parade and act in plays about environmental issues.

TheatreQuest was set-up by the Prince's Foundation for Children And The Arts, and it has given 1,300 children around the country - who would otherwise not have had the opportunity - the chance to engage with their local theatre.

The project began in September last year and since then all of the youngsters involved have seen a performance at their local theatre, met the people behind the scenes, worked on set design and costume making and developed their own productions of the play.

Land Securities, who own Cathedral Plaza, Worcester, helped sponsor Bishop Perowne's performance.

As part of the project 100 Bishop Perowne pupils have visited Malvern Theatres.

Mrs Raggett said the students had worked closely with the Vamos Theatre Company to create the masks for their performance of The Caretaker, which they produced as a film.

Prince Charles said: "It seemed to me it was so important for as many children as possible to have experience of our cultural and artistic heritage.

"The arts are a magical world which help us to be defined as genuinely human and above all, civilised."