Castle School Students Spread Holiday Joy with Festive Singing
Cambridge Manor Care Home delighted in an incredibly special Christmas singing performance when Castle School students visited the home to give a loud and lively performance and deliver handmade gifts for the residents. The school was keen to visit the residents at Cambridge Manor again for Christmas as they did last year in the lead up to the festive celebrations and they did not disappoint!
Located just a short distance from each other, the school and home have enjoyed previous visits and were delighted to take time together in the busy end of term period. Castle School provides education for children with special educational needs, and along with teaching staff, a group of 15 students with a wide variety of learning, behavioural and sensory needs, many with autism, sang for the residents at Cambridge Manor. Leading them through back-to-back Christmas songs, Castle School teacher and choir leader Sofia Hunt, played the home’s grand piano at full pelt and everyone was invited to accompany the music-making with – what else? – bells to jingle of course!
The pleasure that intergenerational engagement such as this brings to both parties was easy for all to see, and the hard work the students had put into putting on a polished performance was recognised and greatly appreciated. Retired teacher and Cambridge Manor resident Angela Roberts understood exactly the effort and commitment from both the pupils and their teachers, and commented, “I was completely in my element being around the children and its hard to express the amount of pleasure their singing bought to me. I spent my professional career in the teaching environment, and it took me back to how much I loved it. I felt so uplifted from their singing and dancing. We’ve had lots of lovely visits recently for Christmas, and this was by far my absolute favourite, it was wonderful.”
The occasion was so successful, regular trips to Cambridge Manor will be planned for 2025 to bring the two communities together. Choir leader and piano player, Sofia, bought a level of contagious enthusiasm to the home and explained, “It means so much for our students to have opportunity to socialise with members of the wider community and build links with people of all ages. We absolutely loved visiting the residents at Cambridge Manor Care Home. The students remembered our visit from last year and were so excited to return. They were proud and excited. We hope everyone enjoyed the performance and we look forward to fostering more links with the care home going forward.”
