KEIGHLEY'S Cliffe Castle played host to a Christmas concert and an art class last weekend.

A group of 13 students from Holy Family Catholic School, aged 12 and 13, performed eight carols and festive songs during their performance in the Bracewell Smith Hall.

The pupils had been invited to perform by the Cliffe Castle Conservation Group. (CCCG) The students prepared the concert – which included both sacred and secular songs – with their music and drama teacher Kay Langford.

She said: "The acoustics are beautiful in this room for the carols. It's lovely for the girls to do this outside of school."

A spokesman for Holy Family added: "There were some difficulties with the technology to provide backing music for the concert that were only just solved in the nick of time.

"Once these were resolved, for half-an-hour last Sunday afternoon the Bracewell Smith Room rang out to Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, We wish you a Merry Christmas and other Christmas tunes.

"Despite the dismal weather a good crowd gathered to provide an audience, which included visitors to the museum who came seeking shelter and found some entertainment as a bonus.

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"In his vote of thanks Philip Rushworth, secretary to the CCCG, referred to the co-operation between his group and Holy Family that has become an occasional but regular feature of the development of the park.

"This has included bulb planting and involving students in CCCG consultation meetings.

"Mr Rushworth invited spectators at the concert to contribute to a collection, which would be shared between CCCG and the school. Plans are already in hand for next year’s concert."

Last Sunday's activities at Cliffe Castle also included an opportunity for artistically-minded people to find out how a popular, Keighley-themed exhibition took shape.

Members of the Arts Group, Small World, were on hand at the castle that day to help people paint images featured in their ongoing Postcards of Keighley exhibition.