News and blog

Strictly no dancing with Ann Widdecombe

On Saturday 24 September Head of Juniors, Mr Matthew O’Reilly, and Deputy Head: Academic, Mr Stephen Seidler, hosted an audience with Ann Widdecombe DSG, ‘Strictly no dancing’. The event was well attended and raised almost £700 for the school’s Sister Christopher Bursary Fund, and it was by all accounts an uplifting, amusing and positive evening! Ann spoke for 45 minutes, initially about her time canvassing as an MP, with hilarious anecdotes, and her youth, moving around as part of a naval family, before speaking about her time on Strictly Come Dancing and reflecting on how amazed both she, and her partner Anton du Beke, were at reaching week 10 of the competition without Ann actually dancing!  Ann’s key takeaway for audience members seemed to be that regrets are not something to waste any time on, and that resilience in any walk of life is essential. I am grateful to both comperes, and also to the kitchen team and our fantastic set-design and lighting team for hosting such a fantastic evening.