The winner of the competition was Ellacombe Church of England Academy based in Torquay, with All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy in Newton Abbot coming a close second.
The Learning Academy Partnership asked their family of primary schools which are based across the Devon area, to run several COVID friendly Christmas activities to help bring some Christmas joy to the pupils. This included a best dressed Christmas tree competition, where Christmas trees were decorated with tradition decorations and decorations made by the pupils from recycled materials.
The pupils were allowed to be as creative as they wanted to be, with some designing themed trees which ranged from a naughty elf theme to a community themed tree. All the children loved taking part and really made the project their own.
The Trust also put on a range of Christmas related activities across their schools, designed to create some Christmas cheer for their pupils. Some of the schools activities included virtual pantomimes, recorded Nativity plays, Christmas card making, a Christmas bubble disco, a Christmas jumper day, decoration making, gingerbread baking, a yummy Christmas dinner, and of course, a socially distanced visit to Santa!
All the pupils, teachers and staff have been coming together to make sure that despite the pandemic, this Christmas is filled with love, joy and Christmas spirit. At All Saints Marsh Church of England Academy, one of the Year 6 pupils even organised a Homeless in Teignbridge food collection as part of his Torbay and Devon Civic Award work.
The Learning Academy Partnership provides a first-class education to its pupils across the South West, and has done so since it was founded eight years ago. The Trust is rated the best academy Trust in the country for the performance of disadvantaged children and in the Top 10 Trusts nationally for the progress that children make.
Mrs Atkinson, Chief Executive of Learning Academy Partnerships, said:
“Despite the restrictions we did not want our children to miss out and wanted to create fond memories of a festive time at school.
“I want to say a huge thank you to our teachers, staff, pupils and parents who have worked tirelessly to ensure this terms Christmas activities could go ahead. The results were magical, and I was incredibly proud to see all the amazing trees decorated by our wonderful pupils. Of course, we were so impressed by them all, but a special congratulations must go to the winners – Ellacombe Church of England Academy, a huge well done for winning our ‘Grand Christmas Tree Competition 2020’.
“We hope that all of our children and families enjoy a safe and very Merry Christmas, and we look forward to seeing the children back in school in 2021.”
