Local Elderly Residents Christmas Party

Local elderly residents are invited in to Nottingham High School by our Community Action Group for a Christmas Party.  An opportunity is provided to socialise, music and drama performances put on and a Christmas meal served up.  Through a whole-School collection, Christmas hampers are also offered, providing help with Christmas food to some of those in our community who need it.

Aims

The aim of this project is to spread a little festive cheer amongst elderly residents in our local community and to give a chance to pupils in our Community Action Group to host and interact with our guests.

This is an incredibly popular annual event and is hugely valued by those who visit us for this event year upon year.

Background

It was identified that there were elderly residents, local to our School, that would greatly benefit from a little help with the provision of traditional Christmas foods over the festive period.  From whole-School food collections, made up into Christmas hampers, the giving of these gifts have been combined with an invitation into our School for a Christmas party, hosted by pupils and staff in our Community Action Group.

Resources

The event is hosted at Nottingham High School, using our drama department and theatre facilities for a reception and performences by some of our musical and acting groups.  Our dining hall is also used to provide a full Christmas lunch for our guests.

Funding comes from our Community Action budget, with the non-perishable food items for the hampers being donated by all parts of our School community.

Impact

We are delighted to receive letters, phone calls and emails of thanks each year:

"I always look forward to coming - a real highlight of Christmas for me!"

"Thank you so much, the boys and girls are a credit to the School and their families"

Pupil Involvement

The number of guests varies each year, generally around 50.  A number of pupils and students, boys and girls, are involved at various points during the event during performances, whilst 15-20 members of our Community Action group are directly involved with the hosting.

Frequency

This is an annual event that has been occuring for at least the last 30 years and as such a positive addition to our calendar we hope it continues for many years to come.