RECENTLY my husband and I were very pleased to be asked by our friends to go with them to see their son Ivo in East Oxford Primary School’s nativity play.
Our family has a long history with the school, but as our children had left 14 years ago, my husband, Pete, 42 years ago, and my mother-in-law 61 years ago, it was a trip down memory lane to walk through the gates again.
We squashed into the back of a packed hall, with the one-year olds and the 71-year-olds, in anticipation, and we were not disappointed as the performance was super.
It had humour, harmony, an original score that was fresh and funky (and a future star in “The Hoity-Toity Angel!).
Families were allowed to film and photograph the production, which cheered me as I find the banning of memory-catching very sad.
This is not unusual as a review of a nativity play. The amazing difference about East Oxford is where other schools teach interfaith, it celebrates it with gusto.
Three hundred or so pupils and teachers of many faiths and nationalities not only respect each other but research and study what the others believe. This is not because it is on the curriculum, but because a proportion of the school is involved and the children are interested in each others’ differences.
Ivo has told me they have celebrated with Diwali lights and Eid passports to Mecca prior to Christmas, and I’m sure there’s more I don’t know about.
Cowley Road, depending on your slant, could be seen as infamous with drunken students, drugs, noise and even the occasional stabbing.
On the other hand, it could be seen as famous for its amazing carnival, great parties, excellent restaurants and nightclubs, multicultural events, tolerant people who are accepting of other lifestyles, alternative shopping, and a hugely mixed society of people who realise you can retain your identity and faith while integrating into the community.
The children of East Oxford Primary School shined as bright lights at their play, showing the world the true message of Christmas.
As I waited to congratulate Ivo, I looked around at the colour chart of faces and felt proud to be a part of such a diverse community with so much knowledge and understanding of the world.
Ali Clements, Bullingdon road, Oxford
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