The ACHS Y9 Community Group students welcomed local residents to school today for a traditional Christmas lunch.
This annual event sees our wonderful kitchen staff and students provide a festive occasion for residents from our community to enjoy.
School kitchen staff cooked a delicious two course meal and the Year 9 Community Group students did a fantastic job helping to serve lunch and ensure that the guests were well looked after.
Live music performed by our students brought festive cheer to the occasion.
The fantastic work of the Community Group throughout the school year
The Christmas lunch is just one of many activities organised by our Y9 Community Group as part of their enrichment sessions. We thought you might like to know about other activities that the group do for the local and surrounding community throughout the school year.
In the Autumn Term, the group prepare to invite residents into school for Christmas lunch in December. Our music department entertain our visitors during the lunch with songs and excerpts from musicals. Everyone receives a little gift and a calendar made by the group for the coming year.
In the run up to Christmas, as a whole school, we collect non-perishable produce to make hampers and deliver to the local residents around our village.
During this academic year, we have had a new fundraising venture; Scott House - a unit based at Freeman hospital, which allows parents/carers to stay near to their children whilst they are in the hospital for treatment. The latest charity event we held, involved all our students contributing £1 (enabling them to wear non-uniform), and all money raised has been spent on toys and games which will be dropped off at Scott House enabling a less stressful Christmas for all of the families in the unit.
As Easter approaches, the students collect chocolate eggs to distribute to all the local hospitals in the area including the cancer unit at Freeman Hospital and children’s ward at NSECH.
In our Summer Term, we dedicate the sessions to making bunting and place mats and invite local residents and families of our Community Group students for afternoon tea in Café 6.
As a whole school we are passionate about our community and enjoy all that we do to make the lives of its residents more enjoyable.
Mr Scott, Head of School, ACHS said: "As Astley is a true community school, participating in an event like this is invaluable for everyone involved. The traditional Christmas lunch for the elderly residents of the area is a very significant part of our school year and we are always delighted to host it. We place a great emphasis throughout the year on everybody in our school doing things for other people and looking after each other. This event is a good example of our ethos and brings the young and old together, which I consider to be very important in the society we live in. A big thank you from me to everyone who has helped in the organisation and delivery at this very special time of year - you were all amazing and a great time was had by all!"
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to everyone connected with our school.