New venue for Glyn's annual Christmas carol concert

Music lovers at the Glyn School in Ewell said hello to a new venue and goodbye to a familiar face when the annual Christmas carol concert took place last week.

The new venue was Christ Church on Epsom Common, playing host to the yearly celebration for the first time, and the familiar face belonged to the school’s head of extra-curricular music, Ed Houlston, who was in charge of his final performance before leaving after five years to take up a new position at Coombe Girls’ School.

As well as the usual carols, the performance showcased the wide variety of musical styles taught and encouraged at Glyn, with the school’s choir, string orchestra, saxophone quintet, sixth form vocal group and junior band all taking part in a programme covering everything from Roy Wood to Tchaikovsky.

Even the school’s Modern Foreign Languages department got in on the act, with a rendition of Blanca Navidad (White Christmas), before the programme closed with a collaboration between the concert band, pop choir and sixth form vocal group to well and truly get the pre-Christmas celebrations under way.

"This was a great evening for everyone associated with the school,” said Mr Houlston. “So many people played their part in making it a wonderfully enjoyable night, and as I leave, it’s great to know that music is such an embedded part of school life at Glyn, and that it will continue to flourish."

Glyn is part of the GLF Schools group, a Surrey-based multi-academy trust set up by Glyn’s own former head, Jon Chaloner. The group now runs more than a dozen schools across the south east, based around a philosophy of strong collaborative learning.

As well as being a showcase for its musical talents, the school’s Glyn for Ghana partnership was also on display on the night, with pupils and staff selling refreshments to raise funds for their trip to Africa next summer.

“A lot of effort went into this evening, and it showed,” said Mr Houlston. “It was a wonderful night of great entertainment. Glyn is a great school with a superb music department. I think everyone who came along can see that, and can look forward to more of the same in the coming years."