School carol contest biggest yet

ELEVEN schools participated in what was the biggest Kenton Carols yet.

Now in its third year, the event was held over two nights at the New Street venue for the first time to meet demand.

Performers ranged from as young as five up to secondary school age. For some of the singers, the show was their first ever experience on a stage.

Each school took it in turns to take centre stage and sing two to three carols before joining together at the end to perform Deck the Halls and Merry Christmas Everyone, the later of which was finished with a “snowball” fight using fake snowballs.

Participants on Wednesday last week included the Abbey School Brass Ensemble and Valley Road, Shiplake, Badgemore, Kidmore End, St Mary’s and Sonning primary schools.

Thursday last week featured performances from Trinity, Sacred Heart and Rupert House primary schools and Nettlebed Community School.

A “Spirit of Christmas” award was presented on both nights to the school whose performance best encapsulated the festive season. Mayor Tom Buckley, who watched the performance on Wednesday night, presented the award to Kidmore End Primary School.

He said: “They came out with lots of energy and life and were full of Christmas spirit.

“For me the spirit of Christmas is about how much fun they were having. They were playing around on stage and having fun.”

He said he had enjoyed that show and that some of the songs performed he had not heard before.

Cllr Buckley gave a special mention to A Hot Cup of Cocoa sung by St Mary’s School and Do You Hear What I Hear? by Shiplake Primary.

On night two, Henley town councillor Kellie Hinton presented the spirit award to Sacred Heart Primary School, which performed Calypso Carol and Feliz Navidad, accompanied by several Year 5 and 6 pupils on ukulele.

Speaking on stage at the end of the night, Cllr Hinton said: “That was absolutely phenomenal.

“It was very nostalgic for me as an ex-Trinity pupil who was on the stage for the first time at the Kenton as well.”