Passengers at Bournemouth Airport have been treated to some festive cheer with a Christmas concert given by more than 60 children from neighbouring Parkfield School.
The children performed a selection of Christmas carols and songs in the airport terminal building before meeting Santa and his Elf and enjoying some seasonal treats. They also had a tour of one of the airport’s fire engines.
Parkfield School is literally next door to Bournemouth Airport and it’s not the first time they have worked together to enrich the experience of pupils.
Earlier this year more than 200 students visited the airport to tour a specially adapted ‘flying classroom’ aircraft from Cranfield University and learn all about careers in aviation.
Steve Gill, managing director at Bournemouth Airport, said: “The children sang like angels and to hear their singing through the terminal really was uplifting. It was a great visit and they got to find out a bit more about working at an airport, including meeting our fire crew and exploring one of our fire engines. We’d also asked air traffic control to clear a path for Santa from Lapland, so he arrived bang on time and the children really enjoyed meeting him.”
Justine Hardie, Headteacher at Parkfield School, said: “What a wonderful opportunity for our children and young people to share the Christmas spirit across age phases and within our wider community. Father Christmas and his helpers gave us an especially warm welcome with hot chocolate and hand-crafted cakes to replenish the energy spent in singing and dancing. Thanks also to the fire crew who patiently answered a million questions about their jobs and facilitated curious explorations of their new, high spec fire engine. Not only was this a festive treat for all concerned, but it marks the continuation of Parkfield’s links with Bournemouth Airport, the biggest employer in the local area and a sign of more collaboration to come as we develop our employability curriculum and launch our #thinklikeanavigator mindset.”
As part of the airport’s Christmas celebrations local fine artist Hannah Horn was commissioned to decorate the windows of the airport’s departures terminal with festive drawings. Passengers are now greeted with images of Santa and his reindeer, and a series of wintery scenes featuring wild animals including an owl, hare and a fox.
The airport is also supporting the work of the Mosaic Charity which provides bereavement support for children and young people throughout Dorset, with donation boxes in the terminal building during the Christmas event.
