This year’s Burton Hathow Carol Service took place on December 12th and was, as always, a real highlight of the year. It should have been our tenth  but, was actually the ninth due to Covid restrictions in 2020. The service began with the well-known and traditional congregational carol ‘Once in Royal David’s City’. As is our tradition, the first verse was performed as a solo by a member of year 6 and this year Zak McDonnell gave an excellent performance.

Our traditional Christmas readings were performed to a very high standard by members of Year 6 and the Upper School Orchestra gave a performance of Adolphe Adam’s carol ‘O Holy Night’ arranged by Mr Nowell for the occasion. The Year 3 Music group gave a rendition of ‘Unto Us a Boy is Born’ and ‘Away in a Manger’. This gives me an excellent opportunity to encourage any of you whose children have not yet started learning an instrument to consider giving it a go – the educational benefits have been widely researched and documented over the years and it really does do children a power of good in all areas not just music.

The school choirs performed exceptionally well with the Lower School treating us to ‘Go Tell it On the Mountain’ and ‘Chariots’ from the Upper School – again both arranged by our own Mr Nowell.

The staff choir gamely performed ‘Cold December’s Winds Were Stilled’, an arrangement of a traditional Catalan carol and accompanied on the guitar by Mr Nowell and, following prayers written and read by members of Year 4, the service concluded with the congregational carol “O Come All Ye Faithful’. We would like to thanks Reverend Steel and the members of St Peter in Eastgate for being such generous hosts for the event as always.