I had high expectations for the school Christmas concert but it exceeded them– completely blew them out of the water! It started with refreshments in the dining hall, where families mingled and took part in the sixth form tombola. I have never seen a school event so well attended more seating was brought in but in the end, it was standing room only at the back, which is great.
The children were all dressed in their Christmas jumpers, so there were Santas, Rudolphs and Christmas puddings galore. They all looked amazing and very festive. There were some brave pupils sitting in front of the curtains who were doing readings using a microphone. They each stood up in turn and read their lines beautifully. One by one the class performances took place, with Christmas music, we saw classes dress the Christmas tree, leave out a mince pie for Santa and a carrot for Rudolph, have snowball fights and pull a stuck Santa out of the chimney!
I love the enthusiasm and excitement of some of the children who wave frantically at their families in the audience and there were some escapees, who could not resist rushing out for a quick cuddle before returning to the stage. There would always been unpredictability when holding a Christmas concert in any school, but the possibilities must be higher in a special school I would have thought. But I saw no tantrums or stage fright at all, so they must have been very well rehearsed.
But the highlight for me had to be a brave solo performance of ‘Let it Go’ from the film Frozen. She was dressed as Elsa and bearing a microphone sang her heart out. There was not a dry eye in the audience as we witnessed such enthusiasm and joy, as she gained confidence we were treated to actions too.
The whole show was a real delight and I would like to thank all of the children and staff for making my day. I continued to grin all day long whenever I reflected back over the show, it was indeed an uplifting event to share in.
I said as I went into the hall that I tend to prefer the Carol service, but next Thursday’s carols will now have to be pretty special to beatyesterday’s concert!