Harvest Festival Celebration
Our annual Harvest Festival service at All Saints Church was a truly uplifting occasion this year. The children sang beautifully and shared readings reflecting on the importance of being thankful for the food we eat and thinking of those less fortunate than ourselves. As we walked together from school to church on this crisp autumn morning, the changing leaves and golden light provided a perfect backdrop for our celebration of the season's bounty.
A Warm Welcome at All Saints
Reverend Baker welcomed us warmly into the beautiful medieval church that has been at the heart of Wroxton village for centuries. The church had been lovingly decorated with arrangements of autumn fruits, vegetables and flowers by members of the congregation, creating a wonderfully festive atmosphere. The children's eyes lit up as they spotted sheaves of wheat, baskets of apples, and arrangements of golden leaves adorning the window sills and altar.
Being in the church building helps children connect with the long tradition of harvest thanksgiving that stretches back through generations of our community. Many of the families worshipping here today have ancestors who would have celebrated harvest in this very same space, giving thanks for successful crops that would sustain them through the winter months.
Musical Performances
The service began with the whole school singing "We Plough the Fields and Scatter," a traditional harvest hymn that the children had been practising for weeks. Their voices soared up to the ancient rafters, filling the church with joyful sound. Parents and grandparents joined in for the familiar choruses, creating a wonderful sense of community celebration.
Foundation Stage children performed an action song about growing vegetables, complete with enthusiastic miming of digging, planting, watering and picking. Their confidence in performing in front of such a large audience was remarkable, and their obvious enjoyment brought smiles to everyone's faces.
Key Stage 1 sang "Cauliflowers Fluffy," a favourite harvest song that celebrates the variety of vegetables we enjoy. Year 3 and 4 performed a more reflective piece about sharing what we have with others, while Year 5 and 6 sang a contemporary harvest song with a message about global food inequality that prompted thoughtful reflection from the congregation.
Readings and Reflections
Children from each year group had prepared readings for the service. These ranged from simple harvest poems read by our youngest pupils to more complex reflections on gratitude and generosity from our older children. One particularly moving reading from Year 6 explored the journey of food from farm to fork, acknowledging the many people whose work makes our meals possible - farmers, drivers, shop workers, and more.
Reverend Baker spoke to the children about the meaning of harvest in both traditional and modern contexts. She helped them understand that while most of us no longer grow our own food, the principle of being thankful for what we have and sharing with those in need remains just as important today as it was for our farming ancestors.
Generous Donations for Banbury Foodbank
We were overwhelmed by the generosity of our school community in donating non-perishable food items. In the weeks leading up to the service, donations poured into school: tins of soup, vegetables and fruit; packets of pasta, rice and cereals; jars of sauce and spreads; long-life milk; tea, coffee and biscuits. By the day of the service, we had collected enough to fill several large crates.
The donations were displayed at the front of the church during the service, creating an impressive visual representation of our community's generosity. Children from Year 6 had the honour of presenting the donations during the service, carrying them forward as symbols of our commitment to helping others.
The donations have now been delivered to the Banbury Foodbank, which provides emergency food parcels to local families in crisis. The foodbank team expressed their heartfelt thanks for our contribution during what is an increasingly busy time for them. They explained to the children who helped deliver the donations how each item would be sorted and distributed to families who need support, making the connection between our giving and its real-world impact tangible and meaningful.
Learning About Food Poverty
In the lead-up to Harvest Festival, children across the school learned about food poverty in age-appropriate ways. They discovered that many families in our own local area sometimes struggle to afford enough food, particularly during school holidays when free school meals aren't available. This learning helped children understand why their donations matter so much.
Year 5 and 6 researched the work of foodbanks and presented their findings in a special assembly. They were moved to learn that demand for foodbank services has increased significantly in recent years, and several children expressed a desire to find other ways to support people in need throughout the year.
Thank You to Our Community
Thank you to Reverend Baker for welcoming us into the church and leading such a meaningful service. Thank you to Mrs Patterson for preparing the children's musical performances, and to all the staff who helped coordinate readings and rehearsals. Thank you to the parent volunteers who walked with us to and from church and helped manage the logistics of moving the whole school safely through the village.
Most importantly, thank you to all the parents, grandparents and family members who joined us for the service and who contributed so generously to our food collection. These moments of coming together as a community are so precious and remind us of our Christian values of care and sharing. The children's pride in their contributions and their understanding of why this matters gives us great hope for the future.
Continuing the Spirit of Generosity
While Harvest Festival is an annual highlight, we encourage families to continue supporting those in need throughout the year. The Banbury Foodbank accepts donations year-round, and there is a permanent collection point in the supermarket in town. The foodbank website also provides information about volunteering opportunities and other ways to help.
We hope that the lessons learned during Harvest Festival - about gratitude, generosity and thinking of others - will stay with our children long after the autumn leaves have fallen. As we enter the season of shorter days and longer nights, may we all carry the warmth of community spirit in our hearts.