King’s Coronation Celebrations
On Friday 5th May, PGHS was filled with coronation celebrations! The quad was decorated with Union Flags, coronation themed competitions took place, music was played, a ‘King’s Feast’ was enjoyed, and everyone participated in the many festivities to honour our new monarch. The marking of this momentous event in school allowed the PGHS community to be brought together while waving our own Union Flags and singing along to our National Anthem. However, these were just some of the many things that happened during our celebrations so, be sure to read the rest of the article to find out more about how we perfectly marked the crowning of King Charles III.
As a school we have, amongst several other ways, celebrated the historical event of the coronation of King Charles by organising year group competitions! Firstly, Year Seven were given the chance to create their own St Edward’s Crown in small groups within their forms. We were impressed by the high standard of entries and group winners were selected from each form with the overall competition winners from 7HGO – Ruby, Grace, Chloe, Charlotte, Fatima, and Isabella – who amazed us with their St Edward’s Crown by even including cotton wool as the ermine! The form group and overall winners were given coronation party packs with treats to celebrate their win! For Year Eight we held a T-shirt competition, to see who could design the best coronation themed T-shirt template. The creativity and artistry of the year group was phenomenal; four designs were highly commended, and the overall Top 3 winners were chosen. Niaomi S (3rd place), Amber P (2nd place) and Unaysah P (1st place), who will all have their designs printed onto an actual T-shirt! Through these Coronation Competitions, we celebrated the crowning of the King whilst encouraging teamwork and ambition.
Music played a large part in our coronation celebrations. We created a specific playlist for this rare event, where students had the opportunity to suggest songs to be played during the day. They all had to contain some relevance to King Charles III or to the monarchy; whether it be the lyrics, title or message of the song. As the playlist was tailored to pupils’ individual music genres, we had a range of different styles to form a positive atmosphere at break and lunch time. This music was broadcast in the quad so all students could enjoy themselves and sing-along, or dance to, their favorite requests. Overall, the playlist helped bring joy to the school through modern music and get people excited about the new monarch.
The ‘King’s Feast’ was served last Friday. Students were able to purchase a special coronation lunch that went down a treat. It included a pizza slice or a chicken drumstick, a samosa and spring roll, as well as a cheese roll or sausage roll with some potato wedges. To finish it off, there was a choice of a coronation themed cupcake or a scone. Many students enjoyed their food outside with their special Union flag take out boxes and napkins, whilst enjoying the many performances from the open mic.
On Friday 5th at lunchtime, girls from different year groups (Katie T, Libby H, Olivia H, Sea B, Jennah K, Grace T, India A, Erica C) volunteered to sing songs related to the coronation such as Dancing Queen, sung by India A, and ‘I just Can’t Wait to Be King’ from the Lion King, performed by Libby H and Olivia H. All the other pupils joined in and cheered on the girls singing. It created a friendly and encouraging atmosphere, filling the girls with more confidence when singing. It was a very successful and memorable open mike for the PGHS community.
Additionally, for the coronation celebrations, homemade coronation themed marshmallows were made. These marshmallows were made in layers of blue, red and white which gave the marshmallows a truly patriotic feel. All the proceeds from the marshmallow sales were donated to the local charity “Save Our World” which is based in Preston. “Save Our World”, travel the world supporting aid containers, food packages and several other campaigns to communities that need it most, like Ghana and Gambia to name a few and most recently helping those devastated by the earthquakes in Turkey and Syria. In total, £70 was raised from the marshmallow sales.
After an eventful week of coronation preparations, the whole school heartily congregated in the quad on Friday to celebrate and enjoy a lunchtime full of exuberant activities and performances. From the open mic to competition winners, ‘the King’s buffet’ to rainbow marshmallows, there was an undoubted atmosphere of enjoyment and amusement. The King’s coronation marks a pivotal moment in British history, and it has provided a unique opportunity for not only PGHS to come together, but for Britain as a nation to gather and celebrate this momentous affair. The King’s coronation reflects how the monarchy has developed since Saxon times, yet it still carries many vestiges of Britain’s imperial past, which is why it is an honor to be a part of such a historic event.
Student Leadership Team 2023-24
