The Ron Dearing UTC Arts Council and Chris Berry, Assistant Principal with responsibility for Horizons Cultural Capital, organised an end of term festival to bring colour, culture, music and fun to mark the end of a fantastic year for students and staff.
RonFest was a celebration of Cultural Capital, the school’s dedicated programme to promote culture and creativity, enabling the Ron Dearing community to enjoy great food, art, music and more, across two half days.
It included everything to create the perfect festival vibe, from street food, circus skills and karaoke, to drum and percussion workshops, a range of live music performances, retro games and chess tournaments.
A reading room, F1 in Schools competition, art zone, fire performances, pub games and meditation were also part of the packed programme of events.
RonFest was attended by Year 10 and Year 12 students, as Year 11 and Year 13 students had already left for the summer after completing their final exams. Staff and students were given RonFest wristbands designed by the Arts Council students.
Chris said: “RonFest was like the students’ own mini Glastonbury with lots of different cultural events.
“It gave them a real burst of culture and opened their eyes to some new experiences as they moved around the school for the workshops they chose to attend.
“RonFest was a fantastic success and we’re looking forward to it becoming an annual event. The response from the students and staff was wonderful.”
Acoustic roots duo Mambo Jambo and Hull singer and songwriter Izzy T, who is based in London and Los Angeles, were among the live music performers.
Year 10 student and Arts Council Secretary Jim Hagar, 15, said: “I helped to run the karaoke and we ran out of time for students to sing in the second session because it was so popular.
“We work so hard all year and everything has paid off for us to be able to enjoy RonFest. We’ve been organising it for a couple of months and this is just the beginning. We could do so much more next year and I’m excited about it.”
Fellow Year 10 student and Arts Council Chairman Juliet Wilkes-Oliver, 15, who also helped to run the karaoke session, said: “I loved RonFest because it encouraged students to do things they wouldn’t normally do and it’s really good that it broadened our horizons.
“I’m hoping it becomes an annual tradition and it’s nice to end the year with a bang.”