The inaugural Staff Talent Show, the brainchild of Miss Wynter, proved to be an extremely entertaining evening!
Thirty-two members of staff strutted their stuff to an MCT packed with pupils and staff, wowing the crowd with their talents (?) to raise money for Save The Children Ukraine. Mr Jones compered the event, suitably in black tie, with pizazz and flair, and introduced each act with funny quips and accurate anecdotes.
The evening began with a story-time - featuring balloons! - from Mrs Lunnon and her helpers, Mr English, Mr Green and Mr Keenan.
‘The Afropop King’, Showers Jalloh got the party started with an electrifying DJ set, and we enjoyed a dance-off between The Spice Girls, comprised of Miss Tampin, Miss Copeland, Miss Bunch, Miss Wynter and Mr Sritharan (an exceptional Posh Spice) and The Backstreet Boys. All agreed that with a little more practice, Mr Beauchamp, Mr Barefoot-Fallon, Mr Lewis and Mr Ralphs could bag have themselves a record contract with Simon Cowell in no time!
We had some contrasting solo performances including Mr Stevens (who sang a song he composed himself), a party number from Dr Atkinson accompanied by Mr Skinnard, and Mr Lothian did his best to channel his inner Gallagher brother. The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air made an appearance (in the form of Miss Rutherford) and there was a dreamy acoustic set from Miss Murat, our new French assistant.
We were taken to the West End by Miss Ody and Miss Massie, who performed Love Is an Open Door from Frozen (complete with complex choreography), and then transported back to the 1950s by Mr Todd with his version of Sinatra’s Fly Me to the Moon, with Mr Beatty on the keyboard.
However, it wasn’t all singing and dancing. The second half began with our Heads of Sections competing in The Omelette Challenge, which was judged by Mr Lewis and Mrs Anderson. Thankfully, no one got salmonella and it was Dr Atkinson who proved to have the most culinary talent. Mr Cochrane turned into The Mad Professor (or is he always?) and Mrs Bailey-Smith, Miss Nartey and Mrs Visram had the crowd going wild for their version of Uptown Funk.
The evening came to a touching close with a performance from Mr Skinnard, with his rendition of I Get Along Without You Very Well.
Considering the packed house and all the extra donations dropped into the buckets, we look forward to making a substantial donation to Save The Children Ukraine.
With thanks to all who performed and everyone who came to watch – and all those who worked hard to set up this very successful evening behind the scenes – we could not have done it without you!