Beacons, Bunting and the Best of British
Students and staff at North Yorkshire Independent School, Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, have well and truly entered into the spirit of celebrating Her Majesty The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee, kicking off celebrations before half term with a whole school Platinum Jubilee Picnic, bringing together students and staff in a historic event for the Collegiate.
QE Kitchen, Queen Ethelburga’s catering team, created and produced 1700 bespoke Jubilee picnic boxes for the occasion which contained the special QE Platinum Jubilee cupcake. The cupcake was designed as part of a Collegiate wide competition, and won by two students from Chapter House, QE’s Early Years and Prep School. Joey R in Year 2 and Fleur F-B in Year 5 saw a combination of their winning designs come to life.
All students and staff gathered together on The Hub, at the heart of the school campus, and enjoyed entertainment from the Jonny Ross band. At the end of the week, QE’s youngest children from Chapter House took part in running a ‘Jubilee Mile’, fundraising for The British Red Cross, with £760 raised so far.
The celebrations have extended into half term, with many of QE’s boarders choosing to stay on site for a special Jubilee ‘Best of British’ themed week. Activities include a special student door decorating competition, a Boarding House competition for the best window display, a Boarding Street Party on the Bank Holiday weekend and a Platinum Party on Saturday 4 June. Students will also be eating from special British themed dinner menus all week, complete with traditional British foods.
The peak of the celebrations will see the historic Thorpe Underwood Hall lit up in the colours of the Union Jack flag this evening on Thursday 2 June, with a specially built Jubilee Beacon lit at 9.45pm (private event). A commemorative photo will also be taken involving the boarding students on site. The Jubilee Beacon has been built by Team QE staff member and Mechanic, Kris Weston, especially for the occasion.
Daniel Machin, Principal of Queen Ethelburga’s Collegiate, said ‘One of our strongest assets here at QE is our student and staff community, and we have been delighted to bring everyone together to celebrate this historic occasion. Both our British and international students have enjoyed learning about the Royal Family and the significance of this occasion. The Collegiate itself has a strong history of royal connections, named after Queen Ethelburga, so it is only fitting we join in the celebrations for this high-profile national event.’
