LOCAL parishioners enjoyed a feast of festive food and entertainment as caring students served up a seasonal treat.
St John’s School and Sixth Form College, A Catholic Academy, Bishop Auckland, welcomed over 100 members of the community, from local churches and surrounding parishes, for an afternoon of fun and festivities at their annual Christmas lunch.
After being greeted with tea and coffee, guests enjoyed a full Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, followed by Christmas pudding and a sing-along with the school choir.
School chaplain Emma Ramsey said: “For the past few years we have welcomed around 20 parishioners to our festive Christmas lunch. This year we have had more then 100 people take us up on our invitation and it’s wonderful to welcome them all here to celebrate with us.
“Our local parishes are strong supporters of our school so it’s lovely to be able to give something back to them.
“Christmas can sometimes be a lonely time, especially for older members of the community, so so we are extremely happy that they have come today to meet other people and enjoy an afternoon of festive cheer.”
Sixth Form and Year 7 students were on hand to meet and greet people on arrival before they were served tea and coffee by Sixth Form health and social care students and Year 9 students, who had made favour boxes and table decorations for the meal, served up the festive lunch to guests.
Headteacher Lisa Byron added: “We are delighted to have had such a massive response to our Christmas lunch.
“It is really important to us that we can provide an opportunity for people to come together at this special time of year. We are incredibly proud of the students and we are extremely grateful for all the help and support of our staff, who have worked hard to make this such a special occasion.”