This week, St Dunstan’s College in Catford, south London, has celebrated the start of the annual St Dunstan’s Festival. With more than 160 events taking place at this year’s event, the festival is back bigger than ever.

St Dunstan’s Music Department opened the festival on Sunday evening with the Music Together concert at the Jubilee Ground, where a festival big top has been constructed for the two weeks. Under beautiful sunshine, musicians from St Dunstan’s and local school, Bonus Pastor, entertained the crowd with a variety of vocal and instrumental pieces.

Speaking about the programme, Festival Director Richard Gregg said: ‘We have 11 days and evenings packed with performances, workshops, lectures and competitions, there is truly something for everyone.

‘We are particularly excited to be working much more closely with other local schools this year, bringing students together to sing and perform as well as take part in competitions. Many of our events are open to the public as we seek to deepen the connection which we have with the local community. This is at the very heart of the festival and an area we plan to grow over the coming years’

The opening week of the festival has also included an International Evening, celebrating music, dancing, and traditions from a variety of different cultures, and a showstopping performance of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from Junior School pupils.
Other events have included the launch of a student art exhibition, a performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, a LAMDA showcase and a community quiz.
St Dunstan’s Festival originated in the 1990s under the stewardship of Dr Anthony Seldon, who was Deputy Head of the College at that time. It was originally named ‘The Catford Arts Festival’ and ran over two and a half days at the very start of July.
The festival was quickly dubbed ‘The Edinburgh Festival of South London’ and comprised over twenty main events and ‘a rich and enterprising fringe’. The 1994 College Chronicle describes the Festival as ‘catering for the souls’ and it contained an array of eclectic events including the St Dunstan’s jazz group, lectures given by writers Brian Masters and Gwendoline Butler, and a Shakespeare play with a twist, entitled ‘A Pocket of Midsummer Night’s Dream’.
However, the festival was short-lived only lasting a few years. St Dunstan’s current Head, Nicholas Hewlett, reignited the festival on his arrival at the College, with its relaunch occurring in the summer of 2015. The now two-week event is a firmly established highlight at the end of the academic year, enabling pupils to engage with a huge variety of activities and performances, involving not only the College, but also our broader Lewisham community.
Mr Gregg added: ‘We look forward to the second week of the festival. We are already planning next year’s programme of events.’