ASFA team up with 10 primary schools for Christmas song

The Academy of St Francis of Assisi (ASFA) has teamed up with 10 local primary schools for a Christmas song and video.

Written by local songwriter, Rosy Smith, the song ‘The Gift of Peace’ is based on the idea that many children across the world would rather peace and safety for themselves and each other than any other gift. In the consumer madness of Christmas, it is easy to forget that so many children are living in danger or poverty and so the song is about reminding adults that children should have a voice.

Rosy worked with ASFA to bring its 10 partner schools together and record the song in time for the festive season.

The primary schools involved were; Lister Junior School, New Park Primary School, Phoenix Primary School, Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Smithdown Primary School, St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, St Cecilia’s Catholic Primary School, St Michael’s RC Primary School, St Patrick’s Catholic Primary School and Whitefield Primary School.

ASFA then invited all participating schools to the academy in Kensington to watch the finished video.

More than 120 pupils enjoyed a Christmas activity morning with a performance by a choir performed and the former primary school students met up with their old teachers.

Rosy said: “It was a pleasure to visit so many lovely primary schools and meet staff and children from across our catchment, as well as getting to see fantastic art work, hearing about exciting projects and seeing snippets of school life.

“Everyone was so welcoming and it was brilliant to finish the project by inviting the children to join us at ASFA for a morning of festive fun and music.”

Gareth Jones, marketing manager at The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, filmed and edited the video. He said: “This project is a brilliant way of bringing everyone together for the festive season.

“As a school, we hope to do many more projects in the future to further cement the partnerships across our primary school community.”

Kevin Maddocks, head of school at ASFA, said: “The song has a very powerful meaning behind it which is important to share at this time of year. The finished video looks brilliant and I would like to thank each and every one of our partner schools for taking part.”

You can watch the full video here: https://vimeo.com/378584325