Carol service brings the whole community together

Sackville’s 2017 carol service was not just a chance to celebrate Christmas, but an opportunity too to bring seasonal cheer to the whole community. And it was an opportunity that the students present welcomed with alacrity.
This may have been the largest service for a number of years, and it was certainly the happiest. Our choir, more populous than for a long time, performed some wonderful arrangements of popular songs, matched by Amy Collins’ rendition of ‘Merry Christmas Everyone’. The readers were pitch-perfect and the community choir added professional polish to the proceedings.
We were very happy to welcome some very important guests including the Mayor, Mrs Mockford, Mrs Joslin, whose husband was head of Sackville in the ’80s, and a number of members of the Keenor family (who generously provide us with Christmas trees every year). The icing on the Christmas cake is that we raised over £300 for Teenage Cancer Trust.
After the service many of those present were able to share a glass of wine and a mince pie with the school governors.
We are extremely thankful to The Revd Andrew Hawken and his team at St Swithun’s, and to his fantastic organist Mr Goss.