Twenty-four hours of music with a time travel theme

Students at Dawlish Community College took part in a musical marathon last weekend.

This year’s theme for the 24-hour event was time travel – and both participants and audience members were invited to go along in fancy dress! The music started at 12.45pm on Friday 23 February, and the final notes faded away at the same time on Saturday. It was a marathon session, with pupils performing during six four-hour slots – no breaks, just continuous music played by talented students enjoying the opportunity to showcase their skills.

Now in its fifth year, the 24-hour concerts have raised money for charity and the college. This year’s charity is Nayamba School – an Exminster-based charity which supports a primary school in Zambia ( www.nayambaschool.org ). It’s a free school established on a farm to provide education for children of those working on local farms. It has grown over the years and now has nine classrooms as well as a pre-school, kitchen and library space for around 290 pupils. Money raised from the concert will be split equally between the school and to help fund Expressive Arts within Dawlish Community College.

Helen Clegg, Senior Solicitor at Gilbert Stephens, was especially looking forward to the concert because her son, Oliver, took part. “We’ve been listening to Oliver practise for so long now it was delightful to hear him, alongside so many other musical students, actually play during the concert! It was exhausting, especially for those playing during the night and early morning, but there was such a huge amount of enthusiasm among students and teachers alike and I’m hoping the total amount raised will match their effort”