Watch Chesterfield headteacher sing and dance for pupils in TikTok 'virtual assembly' during lockdown

The headteacher of a Chesterfield primary school looks set for TikTok stardom after recording a special ‘virtual assembly’ for his pupils during the coronavirus lockdown.
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Dr Mike Bywaters, headteacher of Highfield Hall Primary School, filmed himself delivering one of the school’s Friday celebration assemblies to keep in touch with pupils and help entertain them at home.

And he certainly enters into the spirit of it – singing, dancing and pulling off a few moves from his TikTok collection which he admits are ‘cringey but funny’.

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When the assembly video was posted on Facebook, parents rushed to thank him for providing some ‘much-needed laughs and smiles’.

Dr Mike Bywaters, headteacher of Hghfield Hall Primary School, held a 'virtual assembly' for pupils.Dr Mike Bywaters, headteacher of Hghfield Hall Primary School, held a 'virtual assembly' for pupils.
Dr Mike Bywaters, headteacher of Hghfield Hall Primary School, held a 'virtual assembly' for pupils.

Dr Bywaters said: “We've been trying to think of ways in which we can keep in touch with the children who are not in school at the moment, and staff had had some positive feedback about photos that they'd posted on their class pages.

“Lots of the children commented on how nice it was to see some friendly faces from school.

“We have also been thinking about how we can keep a little bit of the routine from school going; we normally have a celebration assembly on a Friday and one of the staff suggested recording a video of it.

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“I'm self-isolating at the moment, and it feels as though everyone needs a bit of positivity currently, so I thought I'd try to make it a little bit funny and do things like mimic the TikTok moves that the children are constantly doing at school!

“Quite a few children have seen it on the website, and one of the teachers put it on the Facebook page, and there have been some lovely, positive comments about it putting a smile on people's faces. I think that the general reaction has been that's it's cringey but funny!”

One parent said: “Our new headteacher Dr Bywaters only started in September and has made such a massive impact on the school already.

“Everyone is absolutely loving his enthusiasm and hard work at home and also keeping the children that are in school happy and safe while their parents are at work.”