Dear Parents/Carers,
All families of Richard Lander School are warmly invited to an evening concert where the Pearl of Africa Children’s Choir will be putting on a spectacular performance of African song and dance.
On Friday 7th November, Richard Lander will once again be visited by the acclaimed choir, which is made up of children who attend the Molly and Paul Childcare Schools in Uganda, schools dedicated to supporting children who otherwise would not be able to access education.
The fundraising tours, essential to the survival of the schools they support, have struggled through Covid and Visa restrictions. Despite this, throughout the course of 10 weeks, the tour raises vital funds for a British registered charity that in turn directly supports the schools in Uganda, providing education, clothing and homes for around 2000 children who would not otherwise be able to attend school.
During the day the school will support the charity with a non-school uniform day (minimum donation of £1) and a special invitation to the concert goes to parents and families of all of our students.
Year 7 and 8 students will have an opportunity to take part in drumming, dancing and/or singing workshops during the day and will be able to perform with the choir during the evening performance.
We would hope that all students plus their families would make a special effort to attend the evening concert, so please do mark this date in your diary. Admission is free and there will be a voluntary contribution at the end – this is how funds are raised during the tour. There will also be a sale of African arts, crafts and jewellery during the interval – an opportunity to buy those early Christmas presents perhaps.
Richard Lander School has very close links with the Pearl of Africa Children’s Choir. Our staff and students have visited the Molly and Paul Childcare Foundation schools for the last fifteen years, working with schools and communities in the area from which the choir is drawn and we are currently planning our 2026 trip. Richard Lander has also hosted the choir several times and choir members are staying with staff and parents of our students while they are in Cornwall, so it is a cause very close to the school.
The workshops will be packed with lots of African song and dance and your children will enjoy the experience immensely, both at a musical and at a cultural level.
If any parent/carer would like to know more about the Pearl of Africa Children’s Choir, please visit the POACC website; http://www.pearlofafrica.org.uk/ or view the video made while Richard Lander students were working with the choir in July 2017 on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OZhAVV_RpLg
Steve Mulcahy
Headteacher