“What a wonderful evening”!

The annual parents “Sale of Work dinner” was held on Saturday night in the Mitre and we had a wonderful time!

Guests walked up the red carpet leading into the private side to be greeted by trays of canapés, sparkling wine and most importantly Marilyn Monroe! Whilst the drinks reception was going on much of our musical talent was on show with girls performing for the guests as they mingled. It was lovely to have such a variety of performances with Olivia Omilana 4M on piano, accompanying Charlotte Keen 4M for her singing, alongside Elizabeth Duggleby L6M and Charlotte Graham L6M on the flute, Emma Stoll U6M on piano and Polly Sloman 4M also performing.

The drinks reception was followed by a lovely meal in the dining room. The girls had done a superb job of decorating the room and the tables sparkled with mirrors, crystals and red roses to complete the “Red carpet” theme. The red carpet runner in the dining room also proved an excellent performance space for those girls providing the entertainment for the evening. The evening began with a superb performance from Isabella Florence-Jukes 3M who sang beautifully, mesmerising the audience and setting the tone for the evening with her Adele song.

The delicious tapas starter was then followed by an extraordinary performance from Katie Jankinson 3M who played a Rachmaninoff piece from memory and had the audience transfixed. Her performance was followed by a wonderful main course, which was very well received and enjoyed by all. After this part of the meal Charlotte Graham L6M performed, singing beautifully and bringing a tear to many with her rendition from Les Miserables. The entertainment continued with Emma Stoll U6M playing another Rachmaninoff piece on the piano.

A wonderful pudding was followed by our annual auction conducted by Mr Cordingley. Parents continued to be hugely generous, as they had been throughout the evening, and it was wonderful to see so many of the lots prove to be so well received. We are very grateful indeed to the parents for their kindness and generosity both on the night and through the many contributions made to both the auction and the raffle. The photograph shows just how many wonderful lots we had and it was no surprise that this element of the evening raised a significant amount for charity.

The evening ended with a “surprise” act – with the L6th, Mr and Mrs Parish performing “Summer Lovin” from the musical Grease. This certainly got the attention of the assembled crowd, many of whom sang along and was a great way to end an enjoyable and relaxed evening.

We are very grateful indeed to the many people who helped to make the evening possible. Our thanks go to – Margaret for all of her help with the set up and clear down for the night, to Trish for her delicious meal, to Mr Cordingley for conducting the auction and to Mr Cadman and Mr Crombie for so kindly accompanying the girls on the night. Our thanks too to Kaz, Mary and Mel – members of the Mitre domestic staff team -who joined us on Saturday night and helped behind the scenes to make everything run so smoothly.

We are very proud indeed of the L6th girls who organised a fantastic event and put real spirit into making sure it was a huge success. Their unity and friendship has been very evident across the course of the last few weeks and they have made a very strong team indeed. Well done girls!