We are letting you go dancing now Alice, headteacher says in tearful tribute

Jinnie Payne, headteacher at Churchtown Primary School in Southport, addressed mourners at the funeral on Sunday.

The coffin of Southport stabbing victim Alice da Silva Aguiar (Danny Lawson/PA) (PA Wire)

Alice da Silva Aguiar’s headteacher has paid an emotional tribute to the nine-year-old at her funeral, tearfully saying “teach those angels a few dance moves”.

Jinnie Payne, Alice’s headteacher at Churchtown Primary School in Southport, listed the youngster’s smile and enthusiasm for life among her “seven qualities”.

Ms Payne read a poem about her pupil, called Here Comes Alice, in which she mentioned how Alice once decorated a teacher’s pointer to look like a magic wand.

Finishing it, she said tearfully: “The time has come to say ‘there goes Alice’.

“We are letting you go dancing now, Alice. Teach those angels a few dance moves.

“Keep daydreaming, Alice, it’s a magical place to be, in your own thoughts.

“Make magic every day with your teacher pointer, Alice, and we will feel the power of your magic ability.

“Let your beaming smile guide you, Alice, and shine brightly on us all.”

Ms Payne told of “Alice qualities”, which she wished “every child” at her school could have.

The headteacher said the qualities “were in abundance” and “came naturally to her”, demonstrating the youngster’s “character”.

She told mourners: “Number one, to have a big smile. Not to smile big, there is a difference. Alice wore a natural smile every day, it wasn’t forced and it wasn’t put on.

“It was everywhere she went. It was her best friend.

“Number two, polite and respectful. Alice’s manners took her everywhere. She showed politeness, not just ‘thank you’, but always ‘thank you’ with a reason attached.

“Number three, to have interest in others, genuine interest and being inquisitive. Alice asked lots of questions and she remembered things about you.

“She remembered the names of your children, she remembered where you went on holiday, so you had to be very careful about what you told Alice.

“Number four, equality, I love this one. This has to be my favourite, how a child at such a young age could not favour one other friend over another.

“Friends, she played equally with them all. That is so hard to do, and she mastered it.

“(Number five), enthusiasm for life. Alice wanted to do everything there was on offer and she seized those opportunities and you (her parents) provided them for Alice.

“But along with those opportunities is number six. She did support and guide. So if she felt things weren’t up to her standard she would tell you, and she would then help you put it right.

“Finally, the number seven is family. Alice’s words, ‘it doesn’t matter who your family are as long as they love each other’, and Alice did that.”