Our Christmas round-up!

A very Festive roundup: Christmas across Berkhamsted Schools Group

Across the Berkhamsted Schools Group, our pupils have been enjoying a series of Christmassy treats and festive events to draw the term to a close. Below is a selection of Christmastime events at Pre-Prep, Prep, Boys, Girls, Sixth and Heatherton. They truly prove that there is snow place like Berko!

All pupils celebrated the Christmas period with our annual Carol services, held at St Peter’s Church and at Castle Chapel. As a School with a traditional Christian ethos, we always take this opportunity to remember the story of Christmas, express thanks for our year and sing carols together.

Rev. Taylor led our carol services by showing pupils a Christmas cracker. She then reflected on its meaning: the paper crown represents that Jesus is the promised King, the gift reminds us that Jesus is God’s gift to us all, the cracker’s ‘bang’ echoes the unexpected surprises of that first Christmas, and the joke recalls the joy of the shepherds as they found the Saviour. The gift inside reminds us of God’s great love for the world in giving us Jesus.

Our choirs and brass ensembles did a wonderful job of leading our carols, and we thank our chaplaincy team for bringing light and life to the celebration.

Christmas at Pre-Prep

Stepping Stones kicked off festivities with their ‘Stickman’ experiential play, leading their parents through Julia Donaldson’s famous story and enjoying a few surprises along the way. From exciting dustings of snow to a visit from Father Christmas himself, Stepping Stones had great fun singing carols and showing their parents all that they had learned this term.

We have Reception to thank for our Christmas cheer, as they banded together to help Alfie the Elf restore Father Christmas’ festive magic on their ‘Elf Day.’ For a second time (Haresfoot proves to be a truly magical place!) snow was spotted outside, making for a very festive celebration.

In Year 1, pupils showed how they could Be Adventurous, performing a wonderful Nativity for their parents. Entitled, ‘Knock Knock, Who’s There?’ our audiences laughed as the Three Wise Kings were misdirected from the North Star by a bright plane landing at Luton airport. Mrs O’Connor was very proud of the production, and we have some bright dancing futures ahead for our Nativity sheep.

Finally, Pre-Prep came together for a big sing around the Christmas tree. The rain couldn’t break our Christmas spirit as carols were joyfully sung hand in hand. As our pupils left Haresfoot for their break, there was no doubt that they had left the School a little more festive (and snow-trodden) than before.

A Wonderful Christmastime at Prep

Prep was already getting into the Christmas spirit in November: pupils were spotted decorating Mrs O’Connor’s Christmas tree before Advent calendars had even been bought! Ever since, there has been nothing but the sound of Michael Bublé ringing through the Beeches corridors.

New pupils shared a Christmas lunch with Head Mrs O’Connor and Deputies Mr Whitby and Mrs Spurr to discuss how their first term at Berkhamsted had gone. This was a wonderful way to remind us of the importance of family at this time, and how we nurture our relationships at School. At Prep, making every child feel supported and celebrated is not just for Christmas!

Prep has also enjoyed all the traditional Christmassy things that make the last few days of Michaelmas term so special.  Thursday afternoon saw a festive pantomime performance of Robin Hood at the Centenary Theatre for all our pupils, and Christmas lunch was (as always) thoroughly enjoyed. On the final day of term, Prep celebrated the festive season one last time in their best Christmas jumpers.

A Great Bunch of Berkhamsted Boys

Castle began Wednesday’s Christmas Jumper day with a series of carols around the quad. They sang 12 Days of Christmas with notable volume, switching out the lyrics to honour our ‘Great Bunch of Berkhamsted Boys’. Four Flying Swifts won ‘Loudest House’ and will be treated to a breakfast at Chadwick. The full final tune was as follows:

Twelve nurses nursing, Eleven Gilmans coaching, Ten Loxwoods Leaping, Nine Cox’s Acting, Eight Tilmans Sporting, Seven Adders Slith’ring, Six Greenes-a-Rowing, Five Buzzing Bees, Four Flying Swifts, Three Foxy Fry’s, Two Bartrum Bears and A Great Bunch of Berkhamsted Boys!

Next was the ever-popular Tree decorating competition, with each House nominating boys to execute their creative vision and furnish a beautiful festive tree. Staff were then able to select a tree to take home from the collection- provided they make a worthy donation to DENS, a homeless charity in Dacorum.

Houses also enjoyed some festive bonding across years at Christmas socials. Cox’s, Tilman and Bees, took the chance to share a big meal while Swifts and Adders partied on campus with food and Christmassy crafts.

Amongst the festive celebration, Malfoy the Library elf had been wreaking havoc across our Castle and Kings campuses. From wrecking the Library’s Words on the Board to taking some unseemly photocopies, the library has had their hands full this December!

We Three ‘Kings’

Anyone who took a stroll around the Girls school last week got to enjoy our House-decorated Christmas trees- each with unique messages and decoration. New Stede clinched victory for their glittery silver ‘gonks’ and impactful Christmas cards, and were treated to a Christmas party on Wednesday morning.

Gingerbread with Mrs Vila was the celebration in order to recognise our new Junior Prefects, who will help represent their house with pride next year. They mark the final ‘Wonderful Wednesday’ of the term, a treat-filled tradition at Kings where pupils are recognised and celebrated for their successes.

House rooms were not exempt from Christmas cheer, and each has been draped in hundreds of fairy lights and paper garlands. House socials gave pupils a chance to celebrate together across years, hosting Christmas movie nights and festive parties- even a trip to watch ‘Wicked’ for Russell, continuing their annual Christmas tradition.

Snowy Sixth

Festivities for Sixth began in the bowling alley as students took a trip to Hollywood Bowl Watford. This was an opportunity to socialise and relax after a busy term, with Year 12 settling into the Zaha Hadid and Year 13 completing their all-important University applications.

Later in the week, Sixth students arrived at the Zaha Hadid to the familiar sound of Mariah Carey, clad in their best scratchy Christmas jumpers. Each jumper donned promised a £1 donation to the Hospice of St Francis, as we endeavour to Serve Others once again in this festive period.

For their Christmas lunch, the Meadow Quad was transformed into a warm and bustling German Christmas Market, complete with food stalls and warm drinks. Sixth enjoyed hot dogs, chocolate-covered pretzels and some very generously decorated waffles- courtesy of Head Mr Cale!

A long assembly on Thursday celebrated the many achievements of the term, from sporting success to the recent production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The best moment? An adapted performance of A Christmas Carol, acted out entirely by members of staff. While we don’t remember Jacob Marley having a cockapoo by his side- or the Fezziwigs expressing a love for UCAS applications- we are sure that the students enjoyed the spirited performances from their teachers.

The term ended with hot chocolate and cookies in the café, celebrating a busy first term at Sixth.

Christmastime at Heatherton

Years 5 and 6 helped to bring festive spirit not only to Heatherton, but to their local community, as they took part in a Christmassy art workshop at Waddesdon Manor. Creating glitzy candle artworks by utilising a range of different techniques, Waddesdon Manor will now add these candles to their Christmas Light Exhibition, Sounds of the Season.

Elsewhere in the School, Heatherton pupils were once again showing off their impressive creative capabilities- this time crafting cards to be delivered to elderly members of the local community. With 152 cards delivered, this was a wonderful way to remember others during this festive period and help spread a little festive joy.

Nursery and Reception delighted parents with their energetic performance of ‘Wriggly Nativity’. With little dialogue and only brief narration, the children used music and expressive movement to share the tale of the very first Christmas.

Year 1 and 2 hosted a Christingle Service this year for their families. With Year 2 leading, the girls spoke about the meaning of Christingle and how they are bringing light into the lives of others this festive period. Year 1 recited poems about Christingles in small groups, and a series of joyful carols brought the service to a close.

Some of our Heatherton girls also took to the air on Radio Christmas, connecting with the community and spreading Christmas cheer. People called in with their burning questions and suggestions, and Heatherton enjoyed sharing their favourite festive moments.

Across Berkhamsted Schools Group, pupils have shown their festive spirit by Serving Others in the community and celebrating together. We wish all of our community a restful holiday period filled with joy and are excited to see everyone reunited again in January.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!