One of Shakespeare's characters once famously claimed that 'All the world's a stage', and now so is part of the playground of an East Anglian school.

Eastern Daily Press: Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. Faith Eagle and Ella SnellingStradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. Faith Eagle and Ella Snelling (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)

Stradbroke Primary School in north Suffolk is celebrating the opening of an £8,000 outdoor stage, which has become a new hub of activity at its revitalised playground.

Hannah Hunt, head of school, said Stradbroke's 90 Year R-6 pupils had taken to the new feature with enthusiasm.

Mrs Hunt said: 'It has brought the whole playground to life and given it a new focal point. It was a bit of a dead area before, but this has given it a new purpose.

'At the moment we're encouraging the pupils to use it for imaginative play, and we'll use it for outdoor learning and storytelling.'

Eastern Daily Press: Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. Faith Eagle and Ella SnellingStradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. Faith Eagle and Ella Snelling (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)

Mrs Hunt said the stage fit in well with the school's arts-friendly ethos.

She said: 'We are an Art Smart Gold School, we think the arts are hugely important and try to give the children lots of arts-related opportunities.'

Vicky Collins is chairman of Friends of Stradbroke Primary School, which raised half of the project's cost.

Mrs Collins said: 'We normally fundraise things for the children like smaller play equipment, dress-up boxes, that sort of thing, but we wanted to do something that would have a bit more of an impact and last a long time.

Eastern Daily Press: Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage.Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)

'Over the space of a year we ran a lot of fundraisers - I did a sponsored colour run and a lot of people helped out with raffles and things like that. The parents and the whole school community has been very supportive.'

Part of the stage was paid for by a grant from the Stradbroke Art Exhibition Fund, which is run by a village church.

Mrs Hunt said she hoped the stage would act as a springboard for other projects around the school's playground.

She said: 'We're really happy with it. It has made us think about what we can do with other outdoor areas around the school. It will hopefully be the start of something much bigger.'

Eastern Daily Press: Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. Tom Phillips, Will Kingdom, Faith Eagle, Ella Snelling and Wiktoria Costa,Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. Tom Phillips, Will Kingdom, Faith Eagle, Ella Snelling and Wiktoria Costa, (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)

Year 6 pupil Faith Eagle, 10, said she loved the new stage. She said: 'It's for everyone in the school and we all can use it.

'The design is great, and it has bold, vibrant colours.'

And Year 5's Ella Snelling, nine, said she was looking forward to be a part of a performance on the stage.

Eastern Daily Press: Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage.Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)

Eastern Daily Press: Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage.Stradbroke Primary School unveil their new outdoor stage. (Image: ARCHANT EASTERN DAILY PRESS (01603) 772434)