A day of sunlight and celebration.
On a bright and shining Saturday in late June, the inaugural St Augustine’s Priory Association Day took place in our wonderful grounds. Pupils and their families, past pupils, staff, both present and past and neighbours all came together to join in the festivities. The Parents’ Committee worked tirelessly both in preparing for the afternoon and throughout the day itself, supported by staff and pupils alike.
The afternoon began with Fr Fergal Maguire SSCC, from the parishes of Our Lady of Lourdes and St Aidan of Lindisfarne in Acton, who came to St Augustine’s to bless our completed Chapel kneelers. After the blessing Fr Fergal led the procession of kneelers into the Chapel. This project has been on-going since 2015 when it commenced as part of our commemorations to mark the 100 years of the school on this site. Masterminded by Ms Eng, Head of Art, and designed and stitched by a vast array of people from the St Augustine’s Priory community – pupils, past pupils, parents and staff – the originals of these beautiful works of art are now displayed in the Chapter Room. The copies made from the originals now give ease to many sore and aching knees in our Chapel.
Throughout the afternoon there were many stalls on offer, including refreshments of all types, face-painting, a hoopla stall and smoothies made and distributed by Priory 6.
The Art Exhibition showcased the work of our pupils, including the GCSE and A Level Art and also photography students. This was a beautiful demonstration of all that our enormously creative girls work on during the year and was enjoyed by many of our visitors. One past pupil commented that the work produced goes from strength to strength.
In the school hall a feast of Shakespeare was on offer for parents as Upper II performed the Fairy Prologue from ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’, Form IIIA produced scenes from ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and Form III Alpha took us on a journey through ‘The Tempest’. Lower IV Alpha explored the darkness of ‘Macbeth’ and Lower IVA ended on a lighter note with ‘The Comedy of Errors’.
Towards the end of the afternoon the temporary hall was packed with an excited audience awaiting the spectacle of the St Augustine’s Priory Strictly Staff dancing.
They were not to be disappointed.
Cheers rang out as the staff took to the stage in a competition organised and choreographed by Mr Pereira. From the cha cha cha to the rumba the couples moved to Latin rhythms supported by an enthusiastic audience.
The judges were firm but fair. Mr Judson, Ms Hagerty, Head Girl Katya Beniatian and past pupil Alana Byrt gave constructive comments to each couple and awarded marks which reflected the hard work and virtuosity of our dancers.
At the end of the dancing the audience was able to vote using an app and the tension mounted as the votes were counted by our adjudicators. The winners were announced and the triumphant Mrs McDermott and Mr Green took to the floor again to repeat their winning dance.
After this the audience joined the staff dancers to dance the evening away, while some adjourned to the Chapel Terrace for some karaoke to end the evening!
‘Brilliant’ was one verdict on this, the first, Association Day which brought together the St Augustine’s Priory community in a day of joyous celebration. It definitely scored a ’10’!We look forward to the next one!
