Christmas Fayre 2019
The Concord annual Christmas Fayre took place last Sunday. This year, we welcomed over a thousand visitors, and had a record number of stalls at the fayre. This was my first experience of the Christmas Fayre and I was extremely overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and passion the stallholders, our staff and students showed on that day.
Preparation started before Sunday, when staff erected fences and decorated the two venues with amazing Christmas décor items, transforming the ordinary sports halls into a Christmas marketplace.
Student help began with loading and unloading storage vans, driven in by the stallholders on Sunday morning, and other student helpers were stationed in Main Hall to give our guests a warm welcome as they arrived for this festive celebratory occasion. At the fayre, huge crowds packed the sports halls as stalls sold unique and festive items. Some from local family businesses, some even from big name retailers. There was just so much to see. And of course, there were delicious foods, including pork baps, crepes, candy floss, hot chocolate and so on. There were also two stalls from the Outreach team: one selling products made from recycled ring pulls, and one raising money by selling fresh Ethiopian coffee – they were definitely two of the highlights of the day!
When I left the fayre, it was still ‘jampacked’ with people; it was just so nice to see our community coming together and enjoying such a festive occasion with us. Definitely one of the best events we host in Concord!
Megan – F4
Lower School Dinner 2019
The annual Lower School Dinner was held on 1st June this year marking the end of a productive and busy year for Lower School students, especially for the Form 5 students who were in the middle of their GCSEs.
The event commenced with reception at the Science Block. Butter Beer, Ginger Weasley, Longbottom Iced Tea and Slytherin Snakebite, of course alcohol-free, were served to students as they were taking pictures with their friends outside. As one Form 4 said: ‘Butter beer was perfect’ as the friendly chatter was filling the foyer and the laughter could be heard from the outside.
The dinner was a desired break – the social event brought students, teachers and senior staff members together into a Harry Potter themed and heavily decorated dining hall. The themed food was ‘scrumptious and delicious’, according to Concordians. Sneezewort Salmon rillette, Lemon and Gillyweed Tiger Prawns for starters, Madam Rosmeria’s Seared Rump Steak for the main course and finally, for dessert, Mad Eye Moody’s Mango Mousse and Chocolate Cauldron Truffle Cake, topped with white chocolate wingless Snitches and Broomsticks. Yummy!
After lovely musical performances by students and inspirational speeches, Concordians went to the West End where they were met with modern trending music, an external DJ and photobooth. The disco even attracted a few upper school students who did not want to miss out on partying. As for me, it was a wonderful experience to relive the event as it reminded me about the great, exciting moments I had back in the Lower School. As a friend of mine summed up, in a typical Concord equation: ‘Lower School supper + disco + wonderful people = fantastic day’.
Danylo – 6.1