Members of the film club at Normanton All Saints CofE Infant School took to the red carpet of The Theatre Royal, Wakefield, for the third annual Normanton Academy Awards and the big-screen premiere of their animated films – SpongeBob Returns and Up, Up and Away.

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Although A-listers Charlize Theron and Robert Downey Jr could not be there to hand out awards, West Yorkshire's budding James Camerons still collected their golden statuettes from well-known local faces and celebrity presenters including Tom Lister, who plays Carl King in Emmerdale.

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And the youngsters were delighted to see Leeds United player Jonny Howson, Hull City footballer Craig Fagan and the Castleford Tigers mascot all make an appearance, ensuring it was a truly star-studded evening – just like its namesake.

Danielle Carr, advanced skills teacher and event organiser, said: "The film club children were absolutely over the moon."

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Around 250 guests attended, including the 60 film club members, plus friends and family, with young and old dressing for the occasion in tuxedos and dazzling floor-length dresses.

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Film club has been running as an after-school session for the past three years but last year's proved so popular, organisers had to run the seven-week course twice to accommodate everyone.

Thirty children aged five to seven took part each time, each coming up with their own film idea and taking hands-on roles, doing everything from writing scripts, deciding the plot, making and animating the characters, directing and producing.

Each group produced a film lasting around four-and-a-half minutes, creating their characters using modelling clay and using computers to create the backdrops and sets.

Miss Carr, who takes film club along with assistant headteacher Amy McElhatton, said: "It's great for their literacy skills because they do a lot of planning, working alongside their peers and problem-solving.

"They do all the storyboards, writing the scripts and there's a lot of ICT with them designing the sets and filming and editing them using the computer."

Every film club member was presented with a certificate recognising their achievements, while the top 10 were awarded trophies for categories including Best Storyboard, Best Director and Best Set Design.

The previous two awards ceremonies were held in school but Miss Carr said each year the event had grown bigger and bigger so they had looked for a larger venue.