A virtual performance of the song Over the Rainbow made by children from Sompting Abbotts has been a huge hit on social media.

Our pupils can't be with their friends at this uncertain time of lockdown. But they came together as a virtual choir to create a video recording of the song Over the Rainbow.

Their performance was shared on Facebook and Twitter for Easter Sunday. The video has been viewed by over 20,000 people and shared over and over.

The children used smartphones to record themselves in their homes. They followed the cello and piano instrumentals (filmed in her sitting room) by their Head of Music Annette Williamson for their voice cues.

#chasetherainbow campaign

The song Over the Rainbow was chosen in recognition of the #chasetherainbow campaign, which has seen millions of UK children post their rainbow paintings in their front windows as a sign of solidarity and hope.

Mrs Williamson said: “Thank you to our seven talented ‘colours of the rainbow’! They are: Rosalind D, former Head Girl, Veronica, Felix, Annabelle, Bella (Year 7), Maisie (Year 5) and Bibi (Year 4), all recording from kitchens, sitting rooms and bedrooms; to former pupil Hannah W for filming Mum playing piano and ‘cello on her iPhone and special thank you to our Marketing Advisor Sarah Monaghan for putting this marvellous ‘show on the road’ in only 48 hours!”

Emotional response

The video, which showed aerial footage of the now empty school, and past recordings of pupils enjoying its spacious grounds, clearly had an emotional effect on viewers.

Here are some of them: “Made me cry! We we all be back together again very soon!x”; “Not a dry eye in the house. Truly wonderful! Thank you xx” and “Absolutely beautiful. Thank you. Very moving. ❤️”

Headmaster Mr Stuart Douch said: "We were bowled over by the social media reaction to our video. I think it has really touched people's hearts at this difficult time."

The video also featured colourful rainbow artwork from school pupils aged 2 to 13 who contributed dozens of rainbow paintings.

In a letter to parents, Headmaster Mr Douch said: "I am writing to you to thank you sincerely for allowing your talented children to showcase their skills in this lovely video. We greatly appreciate their hard work in making this possible.

“Hearing your children sing beautifully and seeing them alongside pictures of our school was a very lovely experience; I felt very emotional. I thought they did a splendid job with their superb singing and please thank them very much from me.

“It’s hard for all of us, parents, pupils and staff, working through this strange time of isolation. Something I felt the film conveyed very well was the idea that this - our lovely school community - is what we have to look forward to returning to, as soon as things move closer to normality."

#TogetherApart #stayathome

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