From Carols to decorating, festive fundraising and volunteering – to even receiving a couple of special visitors in the courtyard, the Yuletide spirit has been very much in the air this December. We even had snow during the last week of this term!

For the first time ever, the School was visited by two reindeers! Each year group (from our junior students through to our sixth form) had the chance to meet a real life Rudolph and to whisper their Christmas present wish-list.

The caroling season kicked off at the end of November in Pitshanger Lane when a group of our sixth form students took to the stage and opened festivities at Light Up the Lane. The benefits of months of practice were seen in the beautiful singing and musical performances in the December festive concerts: The Lower School Concert last Friday while on Monday evening, the Upper School Choirs impressed at the Senior School Service.

Our Tuesday volunteering group demonstrated the positive impact singing – especially Christmas songs – can have on those dealing with the symptoms of dementia at their weekly singing sessions at various care homes within Ealing. At the same time, our festive fundraising for our various charities has seen cards being sold for The Log Cabin, Candy Canes sold by our Year 10s for Crisis while our Year 10s students along with Mr Lai ran a variety of activities for guests from Ealing Mencap which including making Christmas cards, origami presents and bracelets, biscuit decorating, puzzles, colouring and more!

The creative talents of our students were also seen in their interior decoration! The atrium in the Senior School was covered with snowflakes, doors and classrooms wihtin the Junior School took on a distinctively sustainable Christmas hue while our Year 8s had a go at making festive fascinators  – and our Year 7s and 8s made cards which were specifically distributed within Ealing’s care homes.

The staff too felt the festive spirit with Secret Santas, Christmas Quizzes and a hugely anticipated Christmas Wreath making session organized by Ms Eastwood. And our very own Parents’ Guild ran yet another successful Christmas Bazaar.

And as the final hours of this term dawn on us, there were Christmas jumpers aplenty to be seen on the penultimate day of term – in time for the Christmas lunch while the final day assemblies; the Boars Head assembly and the now infamous 12 Days of Christmas shout out during the last day Christmas assembly, eagerly anticipated. A very merry Christmas to one and all.