PUPILS at St Mary’s Primary, Brixton near Plymouth, will be joined by members of the community together with the 11-piece Sunset Swing jazz band on Friday when the South Hams school stages its dementia-friendly Festive Friday.

The rural primary, together with others in the United Schools Federation, has pledged to work towards improving the public’s awareness of Alzheimer’s and other similar conditions.

Staff and children have also decided to break down the generational divide by inviting villagers of all ages to events throughout the year including this week’s sparkly spectacular.

Head Claire Wilkinson said: ‘The Sunset Swing jazz band will add a fantastic sense of occasion to our dementia-friendly sing-song on Friday.

‘Villagers will be joining us for carols, mince pies and a lot of seasonal fun that we hope will also raise funds for St Luke’s Hospice and the Dementia Yealm project.

‘Dementia is a growing concern in our ageing population and we’re determined that our children learn from a young age how they can help to mould a society that is both better informed and more supportive.

‘But that doesn’t mean that learning can’t be fun and on Friday everyone will be wearing sparkly clothes so all in all it really is lining up to be a properly festive occasion!

The party is due to start at 2pm on Friday December 9.