Our annual festive Service in Preparation for Christmas was held on 10th and 11th December in the magnificent Chapel of St John’s College. A range of carols, poems and readings were presented by St John’s children. Five of our Choirs sang, culminating in a combined performance of 'I Saw Three Ships', arrangement by Malcolm Archer, towards the end of each Service. Over £386 was raised for Home-Start Cambridgeshire and Castle School from the retiring collection.
Huge congratulations on the success of the first of the Christmas Services. It was absolutely magical and the children sounded wonderful.
The carols and readings were interspersed with five congregational hymns, including 'O come, all ye faithful', 'Hark! the herald-angels sing', 'O little town of Bethlehem', 'Lo! He comes with clouds descending' and 'O come, O come, Emmanuel!'. The Services provided a sense of calm away from the bustle that the festive time of the year brings and gave those watching a chance to stop and reflect before Christmas.
Renewed congratulations on the Christmas Services – first class, and I realise the product of a huge amount of work over months.
Before the Services, organ music was played by Senior House pupils: Phoebe Sheffield-Barnes in Form 3 ('Lament' from folk Suite for Organ by Andrew Reid) and Amelia Crichton-Stuart in Form 6 who performed repertoire by J S Bach, Louis Vierne and François Couperin. Our Head, Mr Chippington, concluded the Services by playing 'Toccata' by Théodore Dubois on the organ.
Congratulations on both the Christmas Services - I was lucky enough to come to both and they were a real joy! It is a real credit to you and the school quite what a large proportion of the school are a member of a choir - and all the choirs appeared to be having a great time singing and sang really very well.
The choral carols offered a wide selection of music performed beautifully by over one hundred children from a range of choirs including the Choristers of the College Choir, Senior House Chamber Choir, Third and Fourth Form Choir, Junior Choir and Byron House Chamber Choir. The readings, a range of poems and lessons, were delivered by all the Form 6 children. The readers excelled themselves and each one read beautifully to tell the Christmas story.
I was so thrilled to be with you in St John’s College Chapel on Tuesday and to hear the incredibly magical and moving Service in Preparation for Christmas. I shall remember this (and, of course, many past Services - including one during lockdown!) with such a warm feeling. Definitely the best Christmas Service of the year.
The retiring collection raised £839 for this year’s Parents’ Association Charities – Home-Start Cambridgeshire and Castle School in Cambridge.
Castle School is a Special School based in central Cambridge (off Milton Road) with provision for 185 students between 2 and 19 years of age with various disabilities. The school can meet basic staffing and building maintenance costs but has to fundraise for other resources.
Home-Start Cambridgeshire is one of the UK’s leading family support charities, a voluntary organisation offering support to families who have at least one child under five when family life becomes difficult. Nationwide, local schemes recruit and train volunteers to support local families with young children at home. Their trained volunteers provide tailored practical and emotional support to help parents and children to build confidence, independence, resilience and community connections.