It’s a tale that’s becoming a cliché. The government says, “School funding is at record levels,” and teachers across the country shout, “Oh no, it’s not!” It’s a bit like everyone’s favourite panto, right? Just without the jokes…

At Fortismere School in Muswell Hill, North London, teachers are gearing up to stage a pantomime to highlight the funding issue - and to raise money for the school itself. Everyone on staff, from the teaching assistants to the teachers, the librarians to the co-headteachers, has been cast in an all-singing, all-dancing production of Aladdin.

Drama teacher Miren Jayapal says they’ve got three wishes for the production:

To raise as much money as possible to plug the gap in their shrinking budget

“Like all state schools, we have suffered huge funding cuts in recent years and have attempted to mitigate this impact in a number of different ways. We have to utilise the resources we have to raise money in creative and interesting ways,” writes Jayapal.

To show students at the school the importance of the arts

“Even in the creative, leafy, artist-filled town of Muswell Hill, we’re scrambling to encourage young people to choose arts subjects. Our students need to raise their cultural capital and, as teachers, we need to find lots of opportunities for them to engage with the theatre,” Jayapal says.

To bring together the school and community

Hackney Empire, the local theatre, donated the costumes, an estate agency has sponsored the school, renowned playwright Joel Horwood gave it permission to use his score, and Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith, award-winning comedians and creators of Inside Number 9, have agreed to make an appearance.

Aladdin runs from 23-26 January. Tickets are available at bit.ly/FortisPanto