Magician casts his spell at school

12:15pm Monday 12th November 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

A FORMER pupil at St George's RC School got up to his old tricks when he went back to class.

Magician Matt Grindley went back to his old school in Walkden to show support for the campaign to keep it open.

While there he kept youngsters entertained with his tricks.

Now living in Horwich, the 31-year-old said: "When I heard about plans to shut the school, I was quite shocked.

"It is a popular successful school and the authority wants to close it. The proposals don't make any sense."

The father-of-two said that although he was not academically minded, the school gave him the confidence to pursue a career in the entertainment industry.

He has made guest appearances on a number of television shows and is a performer in Blackpool. He is also the star of the series Street Magic which has just been completed by a production company.

Matt said: "I was always described as an attention seeker at schools, and teachers even made me use that to my advantage. They taught me to take advantage of every opportunity, which I did.

"This is the only Roman Catholic school in the area, and by closing this school, choice is being taken away."

Salford Council put forward plans to axe the school on Parsonage Street as part of a controversial shake-up of education.

Under Salford Council's reorganisation plans, some schools are being extended and refurbished. St George's is the only school being closed.

Campaign organisers are urging people to join the fight by completing a consultation form which can be found on Salford Council's webiste.