Archbishop Holgate’s School prepares for annual Christmas Carol Service

This week staff and students at Archbishop Holgate’s School are busily engaged in the final preparations for their annual Carol Service in York Minster. As well as welcoming hundreds’ of pupils, parents, governors and members of the community they are delighted that the Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress, Sheriff and Sheriff’s Lady will also be in attendance. Furthermore, they will be joined by the new Bishop of Selby, the Right Revd. Dr John Thomson, who will be preaching the sermon.

The service is a mixture of carols, readings, dance, dramatic performances and sung pieces performed by the schools’ many choirs of all ages. There will also be a piece sung by a massed choir of pupils from seven primary schools which are connected to Archbishop Holgates’. All of the drama pieces have been especially written for the service. One of the most noteworthy is a piece entitled ‘Once They Were Boys’. This portrays two mothers telling the story of the famous December 1914 Christmas football match between the men of the opposing trenches. One mother is English, one is German, and both remind listeners of the love and care between Mary and her infant son. The drama ends with the singing of Silent Night in German, Stille Nacht, by a large choir of Year 7 pupils, a recording of which has already been sent to a secondary school in Germany as part of a reciprocal project. The head office of Sainsbury’s supermarket, who have recently produced a TV advert on this theme, were delighted to hear about the project and have requested a recording of the two schools' endeavours.

Members of the public are very welcome to attend the service, which is on Tuesday 16th December, and to stay afterwards for mulled wine and mince pies in the North Transept. The doors of the Minster will open at 7pm, with all those attended needing to be seated by 7:20pm ready for the service starting at 7:30pm.