A bit of inspiration at the Reception Concert

In December, wearing my governor’s hat, I attended a Christmas concert, given by the Reception children (almost 100 of them), singing seasonal songs, loosely linked to the  nativity theme and delighting their parent/carer audience with a combination of hearty renditions, rhythmic vitality, physical actions and plenty of smiles. The capacity to remember the words of the songs was formidable, and I was also struck by the burgeoning social maturity of the children in the way in which these novices took on board the discipline involved in participation in whole year group events. Of course, there were a few who were less than absorbed in the proceedings and whose commitment to artistic performance has yet to blossom. I was reminded of my own sense of embarrassment when one of my infant sons many years ago crowned a splendid musical performance with an exhibition of nose-picking – such are the delights of parenthood!

But for me there was one infant who stood out, a youngster, suitably dressed as an elf, sporting baggy trousers, which turned out to be a couple of sizes too big for her (or the elastic broke!). She had to contend with falling trousers at regular intervals, so that she was always having to pull them up from her ankles, frequently with the judicious help of the TA. It was all perfectly respectable as she was wearing tights underneath, but what impressed me was the way she carried on singing regardless of the travelling trousers – she was not going to allow a costume mishap to get in the way of her vocal contribution to the concert. The show must go on! No tears, no tantrums. Just an absolute determination to keep going in the face of adversity. What a philosophy of life, I thought: pure positivity in responding to such challenges. Resilience at its best. Sometimes, it’s the children who inspire and who get it right. Sometimes they are the models to follow!

Robert Young

31 January 2024