News list
Music that echoed, imitated and celebrated birdsong was the inspiration for the Sinfonia of Cambridge’s winter concert on 26 January 2020 at West Road Concert Hall. The young violinist Emma Lisney played the solo part in Vaughan Williams’ The Lark Ascending and Song of the Birds, a Catalan folk song arranged by the orchestra’s musical director, Howard Williams, for which the St John’s Senior House Chamber Choir and the Form 3 and 4 Choir joined the soloist and orchestra.
The Sixth Form were eager to get their hands dirty and wade into the river, despite the chilly weather, when they visited Epping Forest Field Centre, a Special Area of Conservation for their Geography Field trip.
The Fourth Form had a wonderful opportunity to enhance their understanding of Buddhism with a trip to the Cambridge Buddhist Centre on the first day of the Lent Term.
The St John’s Charities and Community Links Committee hosted its 2019 Christmas party for elderly people living in the Cambridge area to bring on the festive cheer.
Our festive ‘Services in Preparation for Christmas’, held over two days in the magnificent Chapel of St John’s College, once again heralded the start of the season with a range of carols, poems and readings all presented by the children. The carols and readings were interspersed with 5 congregational hymns. The Services provided a sense of calm from the busy nature of this time of the year and created up a contemplative mood to help prepare for Christmas.
Parents, friends and Byron House children were treated to a charming Nativity performance from the two Kindergarten classes with this year’s production, Whoops-a-Daisy Angel. While the angels in Heaven are busy going about their special duties efficiently and smoothly, Whoopsie, a slightly accident-prone angel who is never trusted with the important jobs, finds himself counting snowflakes again. This year, however, things are different: God Himself charges Whoopsie with the task of telling the world about the imminent birth of Jesus, the Saviour of the World. In spite of a few mishaps
Parents and pupils alike were enchanted by T1’s rendition of their drama production, Christmas with the Aliens. This humorous modern nativity by Nikki Lewis retells the traditional Christmas story to some alien visitors who become stranded on earth and meet a group of schoolchildren rehearsing their Christmas play.
The children were transported back to Roman Britain with a recreation of life in the past including role-play, practical activities and hands-on experiences with Roman replica artefacts.
With this year’s performance of Macbeth, the Young Shakespeare Company yet again provided a wonderful opportunity for the children to experience Shakespeare through direct involvement in one of his plays. Forms 4 and 5 enjoyed workshops before watching a mesmerising performance of the play by a storyteller and four five Young Shakespeare Company actors.
The St John's PA committee had all eyes on the ominous weather forecast the week before the Fireworks Night. News of gale force winds and a slew of fireworks cancellations over the preceding weekend meant the Committee had everything crossed that they would chance upon a lucky window for one of the most eagerly anticipated PA events of the year.