PUPILS and teachers are dancing into the school day at Pokesdown Community School, thanks to energetic wake and shake sessions in the playground.

The regular fitness sessions are held to the latest chart tunes, which are pumped into the playground from the school’s broadcasting studio.

Pupils choose the songs they want and the entire school joins in the five-minute workouts, which round off morning playtime.

Dawn Aston, the teaching assistant who leads the sessions, said: “It works on the whole body, helps them wake up, gets the blood flowing and most importantly, they really enjoy it.

“There’s no downsides to it, it’s so good for them, especially on a nice, sunny day.”

And Sue Wood, the school’s media leader, said: “It helps improve fitness levels and ties in with the healthy eating work we do.

“Once playtime is finished and they’ve done ‘wake and shake’, they go in and have a healthy snack and a drink. It’s a bit of exercise that rounds off playtime.”