Roman brings festive sparkle to County Hall

Roman Williams pressed the button to light up both the Christmas tree at County Hall and a nearby roundabout helping to deliver festive cheer to everyone who passed by.

Roman, who lives in Fishburn and attends Sedgefield Primary School, was born with a rare condition called pulmonary atresia, which is a blockage in the blood flow from his heart to his lungs.

As previously reported in the Sedgefield News, Roman underwent a heart transplant in December 2015, but there were complications with his kidneys which means he needs dialysis every night.

Despite these challenges, he is a cheerful little boy with a cheeky sense of humour who loves computer games, Lego and Newcastle United Football Club. Roman’s mother, Zoe Pickering, said: “Roman loves Christmas and he and his brothers and sister are very excited about it.

Switching on the Christmas tree lights was a wonderful experience for Roman. We are very proud of him.”

A Rhapsody of Christmas

Sedgefield Lyric Singers brought the curtain down on their 50th anniversary year with two wonderful concerts in St. Edmund's Church, joined by Sedgefield's two other choirs, Lirica and Sedgefield Lyrics Youth Choir (SLYC). It was a very atmospheric setting, made all the more so by the lighting, and the performances by all three choirs, and accompanists, were brilliant, led by Rob and Kristen Guest.

A round up from the Schools

Sedgefield Rewards Shop


Writing this article as we approach the end of term at Sedgefield Community College, we’re looking forward to ‘The Sedgefield Rewards Shop’ opening and the children having the chance to spend the ‘praises’ that they have worked hard for in lessons on a wide variety of products and experiences.

Our ‘Rewards Shop’ is a new initiative this year and opens at the end of each half-term. Last half-term, there was a lot of excitement from our students for many of the items and none more so than a ticket for afternoon tea in our Food Department, organised by Miss Lennox. Tickets for the event sold out quickly and everyone taking part had a wonderful time! This half-term, there are lots of new items to be purchased with ‘praises’ and the chance to order festive hot drinks is proving to be particularly popular!

For our students in Y11, many are saving their ‘praises’ to buy a ticket to the Y11 prom later in the year. Our ‘Rewards Shop’ is just one element of the rewards approach here at SCC. Each half-term, students enjoy our ‘Wheel of Wonder’ prize draw and as we approach Christmas, our Christmas rewards assembly on the last day of term is always a highlight of the year. Once again, we’re expecting Father Christmas to join us!


Winter Wonderland

On Friday 6 December, Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy opened its doors to the community for another magical Winter Wonderland event. The school was transformed into a festive haven, filled with the sights, sounds, and smells of Christmas. Children showcased their entrepreneurial skills, selling handmade products they had lovingly crafted in class. Their stalls sat alongside those of professional sellers, creating a marketplace that had something for everyone.

Two pupils from Year 4 also created a stall to raise funds for the WWF – selling a variety of colourful bands and charms. Parents and visitors alike were impressed by the creativity and effort that went into the pupils’ work, with many commenting on how special it was to see the children taking pride in their achievements. Workshops, led by a team of cheerful ‘elves’, offered a hands-on opportunity for children to create beautiful Christmas decorations, including lanterns and snowflakes. Face painting stations added to the fun, with children delighted to become reindeer, snowmen, or other festive characters for the evening. The festive spirit continued in Mrs Claus’ Kitchen, which proved to be a bustling hub of activity. A parent volunteer, who also happens to be a talented chef, generously offered his time to prepare delicious treats, ably supported by the staff team. The kitchen was the perfect spot to relax and enjoy the warmth of the season with a hot drink and a freshly made hotdog.

One of the highlights of the evening was Santa’s Grotto, magically nestled in the school’s Reception Garden. Children’s faces lit up as they visited Santa, who took time out of his busy schedule to listen to their Christmas wishes. Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy would like to thank everyone who attended, volunteered, and contributed to making this Winter Wonderland so memorable.


Community facilities

When Sedgefield Community College became an academy in 2020, unlike many other schools, our name did not change. It was important for the school that the name remained as the importance of ‘community’ is crucial to our school values. One of the primary ways in which the school looks to take a key role within our local area is through the availability of the school’s sporting facilities that can be booked for community use.

All of these bookings take place through ‘The Hub’ and there is a wide range of facilities that are extensively used. In addition to grass football pitches, we have 3G and artificial football pitches. External tennis courts can also be hired. Internally, facilities include a large multi-use sports hall, dance studio and fitness suite.

At this time, we have 7 local football teams who play their home fixtures on the school site. As well as this, we have approximately 30 other local clubs and sporting organisations who are regularly based at SCC, including some such as Sedgefield Harriers and The Bulls wheelchair rugby team, who have been part of our wider community for many years.

SDUSG update

After an uncertain start to the year where the Sedgefield Village Veterans group was potentially going to fold due to reducing numbers of members, the group is now going from strength to strength.

This year we have updated our constitution and renamed the group to Sedgefield District Uniformed Services Group (SDUSG) to become more inclusive to all uniformed services and their families. We’ve continued to support our local area, in 2024 we agreed to donate to the following great causes:
St Edmunds Church new chairs, £100
Trimdon Grange Armed Forces Day , £350
Veteran in need, £400
IN2 Sedgefield Hardwick Out-ofschool club, £250
Salvation Army Christmas toys appeal, £670
Sedgefield SPYS – Edinburgh Fringe Festival visit, £250
St Edmunds Church Bell Ringers new bell rope, £162
Feeding Families, £1,000

We’re inviting people to apply for funding in 2025 by completing an online application form at forms.gle/dgL1uBuWfsETa4YXA or via the QR code below:

SDUSG has supported the 2024 Royal British Legion (RBL) Poppy Appeal by distributing poppies and collection tins. We also had a stall over several days at Sainsburys in Sedgefield which resulted in a total of £7,608 being raised for the RBL.

We also had a very successful Christmas coffee morning on 29 November. Thank you to all those who were able to attend and a special thank you to Sedgefield Hardwick Primary Academy who brought their wonderful choir along to sing for us and to the Dun Cow, Sedgefield Co-op and The Hardwick Arms Bar & Bistro for donating raffle prizes.

This year for the first time we supported the Snow Party. Members of the group and non-members from our local community voluntarily made range of sweet and savoury snacks and gave up their time to help on the day. One of our local businesses, The Cake Studio also supported by baking some fabulous sweets treats, you can visit their Facebook page to see a range of cakes and further contact details.

The majority of the money we raise comes from the generosity of the people in our community attending and donating to our monthly coffee mornings, which take place on the last Friday of every month (except December). Local businesses such as Sedgefield Co-op, Kier Group and Berry’s Kitchen also play a huge part in our coffee mornings by making donations for our refreshments, tombola and raffle prizes.

Without your support and the support of local businesses, we would not be able to make any of these contributions or support other charities such as RBL and The Salvation Army. We would like to say a huge thank you to you all and look forward to seeing you again at our coffee mornings in 2025.

If you would like to join the group, please visit our Facebook page SVVeterans and send us a message or email us at sdusgexec810147@groups.outlook. com and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

Christmas Trees!

What to do with your real Christmas tree once the festivities are over?

Sedgefield in Bloom group are again organising a collection of trees on Wednesday 8 January. It couldn't be easier. Simply get in touch with us on ChairSIB@gmail.com or call 07443 606907 and for a donation of £5 we will collect it from you and recycle (courtesy of AW Treecare).

All monies raised will go directly towards planting and projects in Sedgefield, helping us to keep Sedgefield Blooming.

St Edmund’s calendar & cards

The Friends of St. Edmund’s Church 2024 calendar is now available at From Loft to Loved along with a selection of locally themed Christmas cards.