St Mary's VA School Thornbury

28/02/2026

A huge thanks to everyone who visited, exhibited or volunteered at our Creative Arts Festival today.

We had a really fun day that was made possible by the following amazing people and businesses/organisation:

Thornbury Round Table
Nick Quirke's Art Gallery
Avive Dance Company
Minims Music Education
Thornbury Musical Theatre Group
Thornbury Tuk Tuk
The Armstrong
Bristol Academy of Live Performing Arts (BALPA)
Panache Steel Band
Sweet & Sassy Cakes
Will Hamilton-Davies
Rana Rees
Lockleaze Hub
Lorna Page Art and Illustration
Redmusic

Providing events like this for the whole community makes us very happy - so we hope you all enjoyed just as much as us...until the next time! 🤩

27/02/2026

Last chance to pre-book tickets to The Creative Arts Festival tomorrow 10-2 🎨🎭🖼️🎶 https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa.

A great rainy day event tomorrow! ☔️

Don’t miss out!

You can pay on the door but workshop slots cannot be guaranteed.

See you there!

We organise social functions or money raising events for the general benefit of the school. We encourage and foster good relationships between the parents and carers of children at the school and the teaching staff, presenting opportunities for parents/carers and teachers to meet informally.

26/02/2026

Last call for tickets to the Creative Arts Festival! Tickets: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa

The event is THIS Saturday 28th February from 10am-2pm and is open to the whole community so please do share with family and friends.

There's so much to get involved with:

Community art piece with Nick Quirke
Jewelry making
Lego building
Colouring using Lorna's Paige's beautiful Thornbury inspired art
Silent Disco
Make your own shiny bookmark with Rana
The dot project - collaborative art piece
Meet the author Will Hamilton-Davies (includes story session of "The Shrew with the Flu", drawing and q&a/photos)
Exhibition stands - speak to the experts
Try a musical instrument with Red Music
Steel pans
Biscuit decorating (additional charge)
Cafe (additional charge)
Performances from Panache Steel Band, TMTG and Minims Choir

Workshops (an additional charge and limited space)
10.15am - Minims Singing Workshop
11.00am - Tiny Dancers - 3-6 Disney inspired
11.45am - K-Pop Dancing 7-11
12.30pm - Musical Theatre Descendants inspired 4+
1.15pm - Street Dance Descendants inspired 4+

Author slots (first come-first served)
10.15 - 10.45
11.00 - 11.30
11.45 - 12.15
1.00 - 1.30

We can't wait to see you there.

There will be another event taking place in the church at the same time so please be mindful of parking around the school/church vicinity!

See you soon!

St Mary's PTFA

We organise social functions or money raising events for the general benefit of the school. We encourage and foster good relationships between the parents and carers of children at the school and the teaching staff, presenting opportunities for parents/carers and teachers to meet informally.

24/02/2026

🌟📚 Exciting Author Announcement! 📚🌟

Get your tickets here: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa

We are absolutely thrilled to announce that Bristol-based children’s author Will Hamilton-Davies will be joining us at the St Mary’s Creative Arts Festival this Saturday, 28th February!

Will is the imaginative mind behind the delightful rhyming picture book The Shrew with the Flu - a heart-warming tale about a greedy shrew who learns the importance of respecting and restoring Mother Nature after gobbling up an entire forest! 🌿💚 His stories are filled with kindness, humour, and meaningful lessons that captivate young readers and listeners alike.

📖 Want a signed copy?
You can order books in advance from his website and have them signed and brought along to the festival! Just make sure to write “St Marys” in the author visit section so Will knows which books to sign. https://willhdofficial.co.uk/shop/

🎧 PLUS - don’t miss our Silent Disco area!
Put on your headphones and dance your heart out as part of a full day of creativity, stories, and fun for the whole family!

We can’t wait to see you there - it’s going to be a magical day! ✨

22/02/2026

Have you seen the epic workshops we have available to book on Saturday 28th Feb at our Creative Arts Festival?

Book your tickets here: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa

10:15 - Minims Music Education : Decode the Dots Singing Worksop 7-11years

11:00 - Avive Dance Company Tiny Dancers Big Moves Workshop 3-6years

11:45 - Avive Dance Company K-Pop Dance Workshop 7-11years

12:30 - Bristol Academy of Live Performing Arts (BALPA) Descendants Themed Musical Theatre Workshop 4+years

1:15 - Bristol Academy of Live Performing Arts (BALPA) Descendants Themed Street Dance Workshop 4+years

Please note that a full festival ticket needs to be purchased to enter the event with the above workshops charged at £2 per child.

21/02/2026

1 week to go! 🤩

We can't wait to welcome the whole community to our Creative Arts Festival being held next Saturday 28th February 10am - 2pm. This weather is so miserable, spend a few hours with us and we will provide some sparkle!

Here’s everything you and your family can enjoy at the Creative Arts Festival hosted by St Mary’s CE VA School PTFA Thornbury next week:

🖌️ Community art piece – help create something amazing together Nick Quirke's Art Gallery

🎵 Try a musical instrument – explore sounds and have a go from ukuleles, drums, steel pans and more

🖍️ Colouring station – relaxing creative fun

🧱 LEGO creation zone – build your own masterpiece

✂️ Arts & crafts – hands-on creative projects

🤳 Selfie station – snap fun festival memories

🗺️ Fun trail – explore and discover surprises

🧠 Meet the experts – learn from talented creatives

🎤 Performances from local groups and individuals Thornbury Musical Theatre Group

☕ Café treats available

🧑‍🏫 Special workshops (just £2 extra)

🎶 Singing workshop with Minims Music Education

💃 K-Pop & Disney Dance workshops with Avive Dance Company

🌟 Descendants themed Musical Theatre & Street Dance workshops with Bristol Academy of Live Performing Arts (BALPA)

📝 Poetry competition – entries displayed on the day (and prizes to win!)

🎟️ Tickets are affordable and selling fast!

£5 Children (4–12)

£2.50 Adults

FREE for under 4s

✨ This is a fantastic, family-friendly day packed with creativity, confidence-building, and fun. Book now to secure your spot and avoid missing out!

https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa/index.cfm?event=dashboard

14/02/2026

🎨✨ Just 2 weeks to go until our Creative Arts Festival – and we can’t wait to welcome you! ✨🎶

Join us on Saturday 28th February, 10am–2pm at St Mary’s for a fantastic day celebrating creativity, music, dance and art – open to the whole community and perfect for families.

🌟 What’s happening on the day:

🎤 Singing workshop with Minims Music Education
🩰 Tiny Dancers class Avive Dance Company
💃 K-Pop dancing
🎭 Musical theatre masterclass Bristol Academy of Live Performing Arts (BALPA)
🕺 Street dance
🎨 Take part in our impressive community art piece Nick Quirke's Art Gallery
🎶 Try instruments Redmusic, crafts, colouring, Lego creation, story time and more
☕ Enjoy performances from local groups and treats in our café

There truly is something for everyone – whether your child loves to perform, create, explore or simply have fun!

🎟️ Tickets:
£5 children (4–12)
£2.50 adults
Under 4s FREE

With only 2 weeks to go, don’t miss out - secure your tickets now and be part of this special community event!

👉 Book here: www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa
Please share and invite friends and family - the more the merrier! 💛

P.S. This half term why don’t you enter our poetry competition to be in the chance to win a book voucher!

01/02/2026

This is one of the workshops that are available to children 7-11yrs! Minims Music Education 🎶

Sign up here https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa

🎵 Decode the Dots 🎵

Ever wondered how children actually learn to read rhythm notation without it feeling scary or boring?

Decode the Dots is a fun, practical workshop where children aged 7-11 learn to recognise and understand real rhythm notation through games, clapping and music-making.

🕰 10:15am, Saturday 28th February
📍 St Mary’s Creative Arts Festival
💷 £2 per child

Perfect for curious musicians, choir kids, instrumental learners or anyone who just loves music. All profits will go directly to St Mary’s PTFA.

For more information and to book, visit the event page.

31/01/2026

Our Creative Arts Festival is our next event - Saturday 28th February 10am - 2pm. It's such a fab day out - you won't want to miss it!

TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa

With fantastic workshops available from Minims Music Education , Avive Dance Company and Bristol Academy of Live Performing Arts (BALPA).

We hope to see you there!

30/01/2026

WOW. What an evening at our screen time seminar last night. It was a great turn out with over 200 local parents listening in to our incredible speakers. Thank you for supporting this event and big thanks to Thornbury, Oldbury and Shepperdine United Benefice, Papaya: Parents Against Phone Addiction in Young Adolescents, Smartphone Free Childhood, Generation Focus and St Mary’s PTFA volunteers.

To our speakers, Dr Susie Davies, Andy Cox, Andri Nicolaou, Dr Paul Redford, Dr Ben Knight and Rich Ferriman - thank you for your insights.

We’ve been inundated with parents saying how informative, non-judgemental and solution focussed the evening was.

If you missed out and would like to watch the full talk, we’ve reopened ticket sales to purchase the recording. Just to head to: https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa. This will only be available to view for the next 2 weeks. Please spread the word!

Join this WhatsApp group provide by Smartphone Free Childhood to continue the conversation and find your school. If it’s not there - add it and invite members! https://chat.whatsapp.com/EX7ZLT5tCd7Hb8i4t7HULh

Sign the parent pact here: https://www.smartphonefreechildhood.org/sign-the-parent-pact

Take a moment to read the below slide. 4.54 hours a day teenagers are spending online on devices. We have to stand together and make a change to protect our children. Who’s in?!

Let’s keep the conversation going! ✨

28/01/2026

Last chance to book tickets to our screen time seminar at St Mary's Church tomorrow,Thursday 29th January 2026 at 7pm.

In-person of live link tickets available dependant on your availability.

Such an important topic - we hope to see you there!

https://www.pta-events.co.uk/smt-ptfa