Last Sunday, a quartet of choristers visited the Oxford Illusion Museum, a welcome newcomer to the High Street, with four floors of eye-tricking, mind-scrambling effects, including the infinity dodecahedron, unnerving mirror passages, magic eye – and a friendly young staff, who let us have the ‘perpetual motion’ jumping ball to ourselves as we enjoyed hot chocolate.

CCCS welcomed the amazing Brass Funkeys to school last Friday! They ran an awesome workshop for the Jazz band, focussing on learning tunes by ear and improvisation. They then performed on the playground to the whole school, with infectious energy, marrying the vibrancy of New Orleans with pop and jazz!

While most of us started the new term carefully, trying not to slip and slide along Brewer Street, fourteen of our boys decided it would be much more fun to do just that, in Flaine!

As part of our 500th Anniversary Celebrations, the Cathedral Choir performed at Wigmore Hall on 5th January with a recital program tracing a remarkable multi-century arc of English choral music, beginning with John Taverner’s early 16th-century works Christe Jesu, pastor bone Weston Wynde Mass. Taverner is among the most significant composers of the early Tudor church and was also the first appointed Organist of the Cathedral. His music laid foundations for English polyphony with its rich, flowing lines and deep spiritual resonance.

Last Friday was our final Enrichment class of the term, and the Making the Most of Oxford and Photography groups were treated to a specially arranged visit to the magical Christ Church Christmas Tree Festival!

Our most advanced instrumentalists gathered in the Walton Hall on Saturday for a workshop with Nicholas Cleobury. Mr Cleobury is globally renowned as a conductor, having spent his career working with orchestras and opera companies around the world, as well as teaching conducting at the Royal Academy of Music.