Christmas comes but once a year and across The Corinium Education Trust we enthusiastically embrace the festivities. We celebrate the true meaning of Christmas through our actions and calendared events. All schools have involved the wider community, with carols being sung in churches and care homes and cards and parcels being sent to those in greater need at home and abroad.

‘I have been impressed by the generosity of spirit across The Corinium Education Trust this Christmas. Pupils have shown tremendous empathy and have learnt the value of giving in a variety of different ways as well as of receiving! I wish everyone a very merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.’ Chiquita Henson, Chief Executive.

In each of our primary schools, pupils of all ages have had the opportunity to share their talents by taking part in nativity plays and donate gifts for their annual Christmas Fayres. We are grateful to our families who have generously contributed to and support these festive events.

‘We are so proud of all our wonderful children who performed so well in our nativity plays - whether they spoke, sang or acted, all the children did so well. A huge thank you to all the staff involved. Once again they have done us proud! All of our visitors said how much they enjoyed the plays – a wonderful way to get us in the Christmas mood!’ Carol Dougill, Executive Headteacher, Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools.

Across The Corinium Education Trust pupils have made and exchanged cards and gifts. At Deer Park, Year 7 pupils took this to new heights and designed cards with increasing sophistication in a new paper engineering module in their Design lessons. This included traditional pop-up cards and, more ambitiously, those with circular motion as a result of including gears.

While all pupils at Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools enjoyed ‘Cinderella’, the pantomime at Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre, pupils at Chesterton took advantage of a more local performance and walked from the school to see ‘A Christmas Carol’ at Cirencester’s Barn Theatre. This trip was supported by the school’s PTA and it was definitely appreciated.

‘We would like to say a huge thank you to everyone who helped make the trip to see A Christmas Carol at the Barn Theatre such a success. We are also grateful to The Barn Theatre production team who kindly arranged for one of the actors to meet the children before the performance.’ Karen Venner, Headteacher.

‘The play was amazing. My favourite part was when Marley came out from the trap door with smoke coming out of it and when the chains were clashing and banging on the ground.’ James, Year 5.

‘My favourite thing was when everybody was singing and it was beautiful. I loved watching them act out things that I didn’t know. The actors looked like they enjoyed it and they were smiling and that made me smile too.’ Katie, Year 5.

Each of our schools has celebrated Christmas in its own way reflecting their distinctive characteristics. Cirencester Deer Park School’s annual Carol Service in The Parish Church on Tuesday 10 December 2019, was the first herald the season of advent and this was followed by the annual Christingle and Carol Services at Kemble and Siddington C of E Primary Schools. At Siddington C of E Primary School pupils took care to create their own Christingles while they learnt more about what the different elements represented as Christian symbols.

At Cirencester Deer Park School, the very popular Christmas Jumper Day coincided with the school’s Christmas lunch and, for the privilege of wearing these cheerful tops, pupils gave generously to the local food bank and Save the Children.