Every pupil from the Nursery through to Year 6 took part in a musical extravaganza that carried a powerful message about the true meaning of Christmas. With lines like ‘I go to the tills when my heart is lonely', ‘shop ‘til you drop' and ‘the tills are alive with the sound of Christmas', the season's rampant commercialisation was set against the simple needs of the Makenmend family who ultimately inspire everyone with their very different, far less material, approach.

Angels, shepherds, wise men, stars, sheep and, of course, Mary and Joseph still had an important part to play - bringing a tear to many a parent and grandparent's eye.

"Everyone who took part did really well," said Alison Miller, Prep School Head. "It was an ambitious project but one which worked brilliantly. I'm very proud of them all."

In the Senior School, there were laughs galore as members of the teaching staff joined Headmistress Caroline Pascoe on stage for a short version of Cinderella. Performed on the final day of term in front of pupils, the unrehearsed panto proved an enormous hit - thanks in no small part to Year 9A who had devised it, their form tutor Kat Barbery-Redd and local business Clowning Around who lent the costumes for free.

"It was great fun," said Mrs Pascoe who played the evil stepmother and who, like the teachers, had been voted into the part at the Christmas Fayre. "We had time for just one quick run through before doing it for real but somehow it all worked. There was lots of laughter from the audience!"

Ends December 2012

Photo:  Little angels