School choirs help spread festive cheer

There may not have choirs of angels but there was certainly joyful music in the corridors of East Kent Hospitals for Christmas.

Young singers and musicians from local schools gave up their time to sing and play for patients and staff at the Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother Hospital in Margate, Kent and Canterbury Hospital, and William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

A choir and musicians from Ursuline College in Westgate visited QEQM, taking requests from patients on the wards and singing in the corridors, leaving a trail of smiles in their wake.

Patients and staff at QEQM were also entertained by pupils from St Gregory’s Primary School, while youngsters from Simon Langton Girls School sang at the Kent and Canterbury Hospital. They were joined by an elderly patient who enjoyed singing in her youth, and became an honorary member of the choir while they visited her ward.

And at the William Harvey Hospital, pupils from Repton Manor Primary School helped spread some festive cheer to patients and staff.

Mandy Carliell, head of volunteering and public services, who organised the visits, said: “We are so grateful to all the students and staff who gave up their time to bring some of the magic of Christmas to our hospitals.

“Their performances have been a real delight, particularly for patients who may be spending the festive season on a ward, or who do not have family nearby to visit.

“But they also gave a real boost to our staff, and it was a wonderful way to bring our communities together.”