Carols and fund-raising at Spring Grove School

The last weeks of the Autumn term are a carol-fest at Spring Grove, a time when every child in the school is given the opportunity to take part in a musical celebration of Christmas. Just as important, it’s an opportunity for the school to raise money for a range of charities, both local and international.

Aims

The aim is to raise money for charities - the school has a long-standing association with some (eg Porchlight); others have been chosen as a term-long project for a specific objective (Toilet Twinning).

This year our pupils were out carol singing in Ashford County Square for Demelza Hospice Care, and in Canterbury High Street for Porchlight - Kent's largest charity for homeless and vulnerable people. In the Cattle Ring at Ashford Market, Spring Grove children joined forces with Brockhill Young Farmers Club to perform a Nativity play with live animals, in aid of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. Meanwhile the collection from the school’s annual Carol Service was donated to Toilet Twinning - part of a term-long fund-raising effort that focused on global sanitation issues. 

Pupil Involvement

The highlight of our Christmas celebrations is always the school’s annual Carol Service, held in Wye Church. Preparations for this event start earlier in the term, when the Prep 6 children work together to write their own Christmas carols for everyone to sing. These compositions form the centrepiece of the Carol Service. This year they included classic titles such as 'Smells from the Kitchen', 'Don't be Naughty for Christmas!', 'The Camel's Journey' and 'Christmas Countdown'. The children’s fun and  inventiveness is summed up by these lines:

‘Let’s be happy for Christmas
Turkey, stuffing, kale, yummy food
Everyone is in a jolly mood!’