Stacey Solomon went to give a pep talk to pupils ahead of live semis(Image: Supplied)
Stacey Solomon is backing one Britain’s Got Talent act to sing and dance their way into the final against all odds. Braunstone Community Primary School from Leicestershire will perform again on ITV tonight after Stacey pushed the golden buzzer when appearing as a guest judge.
The audition saw 30 pupils start by singing All Things Bright And Beautiful on stage , before another 80 school kids flooded the stage and aisles to freestyle dance to a mash up of rave classics. Stacey loved the energy and joy of the act and put them straight through to the live semi finals.
Stacey on the BGT panel(Image: Tom Dymond)
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Former head teacher, Halil Tamugus, who appeared in the audition as Mr T and created the concept, said: “Stacey’s a good friend of ours now, we back her fully, and she backs us. And she came into the school as well, she made a surprise visit last week. It was great.
“She came in, she gave us a little bit of a pep talk to believe in ourselves, and, you know, give it our best shot, but to really enjoy it. And the kids really bought into that, and they buy into her, so, yeah, it’ll be amazing to see her again at the Semis. When Stacey pressed the Golden Buzzer, it took me probably 30 seconds longer than everybody else to actually process what was going on. It was just a complete shock.
“We weren’t expecting it. It wasn’t the reason we went on the show. The reason we went onto the show was just to share and spread some joy.”
The act is an extension of ‘Friday Dance’ that the school organises, giving kids a chance to let their hair down for a few minutes at the end of the week.
Creator, Halil, 47, insists other schools might also benefit from trying the process, which they have been doing regularly since after Covid.
He explained: “I think people think I’m a little bit a little bit nuts when I say it, but genuinely, I think this is one of the main drivers for our success.
“So last academic year, the school achieved, you know, all of our assessments and all of our kind of examinations that we have to do, we were in line with national or better, across the board in everything that we did, in an area like Braunstone, which is deprived.”
He added: “I’d put the music on in the library, which was, which is the centre of our school, and the children in the bubbles were dancing, and it was like we’ve got all of these children that are craving connection of some sort, so we kind of did it then a few times. And then after Covid, it became our thing. So we the whole school together, and it really tied us all together.
“Music’s a leveller. So regardless of your background, your age, your colour, your religion, whatever it might be, music kind of like levels all of that out.
“And so it’s a chance for us all to get together and and to feel that sense of belonging, especially in a world where it’s quite divisive a the minute.
“If we look at the world as it is at the moment, turn the news on for a while now, it’s felt really fractured. We just wanted to give our children a sense of hope, we can still have fun, we can still have joy.
“And then every time we’ve had visitors come around the school on a Friday, and they felt it. We get the same reaction. They say ‘this is incredible. I can’t believe you do this. How do, how do you manage it?’ But it’s just, it’s just the kind of it emits so much joy and love and excitement.”
The school goes into the semi finals as underdogs but dreaming of making the final. It will also be the first time they have been judged by Simon Cowell as Stacey was standing in for him first time around at the auditions.
Halil added: “There is a little bit of trepidation, bit of worry that it’s Simon. We don’t know how he’s going to be but you know, the kids are ready to get him involved, and for him to have a really good time with us as well. We want him to feel the energy.
“And the children are really excited about meeting him and seeing him, because they felt like they missed out a little bit. Although it was great having Stacey, they missed out on on seeing Simon. So it’s going to be great to have him there as well. We’re all so excited.
“I tell people I don’t want to go to the final because it’s been really intense. However, I think it’d mean the world to the kids. So I you know, the way they’re talking about themselves now, the confidence, their their belief in themselves, is something off the charts.
“But they’re ready. They’re ready for rejection in the nicest possible way. If it doesn’t happen, it doesn’t happen, they’re ready to go out there and have a great time. But there’s that tinge of hope, you know, that what if? And so they’re dreaming things they never thought they could dream, and it’s exciting.”
Asked to tease what would be different about their act in the semi finals, He said: “We have had to adapt it just slightly. But I can you there probably will be some silly string making an appearance on our performance, and we’ve got special guests who will also be involved in the dance as well. So it’s really exciting.”
Halil stepped down as head teacher last year but remains linked to the school as an improvement advisor. The school, which is rated Good by Ofsted, surpassed the national average for the first time ever at the end of the academic year of 2025 with 82% of pupils achieving an expected grade or above in maths, 80% in reading and 79% in writing.
* Britain’s Got Talent continues tonight with the live semi final at 7pm on ITV and ITVX.
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