Fair marks school’s 150th anniversary

St John’s Catholic School for the Deaf is holding the fair on Saturday November 23, 10am-1pm, when a host of festive treats and activities will be available.

There will be a wide range of stalls including those selling handcrafted and unusual gifts, Christmas puddings, homemade jams and cakes, jewellery, health and beauty gifts, Christmas decorations and cards and stationery.

There will also be a raffle and bottle tombola as well as children’s crafting activities.

Anyone who would like to book a stall at the Christmas Fair should contact Jackie Peacock on 01937 842144 or: [email protected]. Stalls are £10 plus a donated item for the raffle.

The fair will be held at the school which is in Church Street, Boston Spa. St John’s is a specialist school which supports young people who are deaf or have complex communication, physical or sensory difficulties.

The school will hold a series of events throughout the academic year of 2019/20 to celebrate its foundation 150 years ago by Belgian priest, Monsignor Desiree de Hearne.

After working with a family of deaf children in his parish and discovering how limited their educational opportunities were, he decided to found a school to meet their needs. The school was dedicated to St John of Beverley who became Bishop of Hexham and York.

Headteacher Ann Bradbury said: “Christmas is a very special time here at St John’s and our Christmas fair is one of the highlights of our school calendar.

“This year it is even more special as it forms part of our year-long celebrations to mark our 150th anniversary.

“The fair will be the perfect way to start getting into the Christmas spirit.

“We’ve got lots of great stalls and activities for all the family.

“It would be wonderful to see as many people from the local community as possible come along and enjoy the festivities and to help us celebrate our It’s the perfect way to start thinking about and getting prepared for Christmas!”