Christmas Carol Service

Thank you to all those in the St Bart’s community who joined us yesterday for our annual Christmas Carol Concert. As is tradition, the event was held in the beautiful setting of the historic St Nicolas Church. The Festival of Lessons and Carols service was first held on Christmas Eve in 1918, planned by the then Dean of King’s College, Cambridge, and it is still a blue print for many Anglican Christmas services all around the world. St Bart’s have annually hosted our own Lessons and Carols service for many years at St Nicolas Church, and it was wonderful to be back, marking the end of another Autumn Term with this wonderful musical celebration in such a beautiful setting.

Opening with Once in Royal David’s City, the service follows a programme of readings and joyful and uplifting performances by the talented School Orchestra, Senior Band and School Choir, as well as smaller ensembles. In particular we wish to thank our Year 13 student conductors, Tom Giles, Charlotte Robertson and Isaac Giaever-Enger, who lead the School Orchestra for the congregational carols, as well as Cole Bowers (Year 13), who led our Percussion Ensemble in ‘Carol of the Bells’, and Lawrence Mullally (Year 13), who led our Brass Ensemble in ‘Joy to the Word’ and ‘Deck the Halls’. Special mention should also go to our student readers Caleb Higgs (Year 7), Oliver Manton (Year 10), Favour Oke (Year 11) and Eve MacLeod (Sixth Form).

Thank you to all those who donated to the retiring collection which raised £314.08 for Naomi House and St Nicolas Church. Finally, thank you to our excellent Music Department for all their hard work, to our student musicians, to Mr Robbins, Mr Bastable, Mrs Hale, Charlie Warner (Governor) and to everyone who supported and attended the evening.