A reunion of members of Llantarnam School Senior Choir from the last 21 years raised £1730 for charity at a sell-out concert. The event was in memory of retired deputy head teacher Barrie Shankland who sadly passed away on 22 January 2013.

Last Christmas Eve a few ex pupils of the school bumped into Geraint Davies, the choir director, and this chance conversation threw up the idea of a concert.

Former pupil Rhianwen Bailey posted about the idea on Facebook and current and former pupils from across Wales and England signed up and rehearsals began. The event was organised by Nicola De-Gare Pitt and Rhianwen Bailey.

Four hundred tickets were sold for the concert at the Parkway Hotel on 31 March. The age range of the singers was from 15-45 years.

Nicola said: “We were joined by guest choir – Cor-Y-Dreigiau, who were very happy to participate in our event. The event was a huge success and we raised £1,730 for two charities, British Heart Foundation and Royal National Lifeboat Institution, charities chosen by the family of the late Mr Shankland. The event took much planning and organisation but paid off as the audience were astounded and all in tears, as were most of the choir members.

“I’d like to say a huge thankyou to the hugely talented choir director- Geraint Davies, who is a musical genius and an inspiration to all. He has such passion, influence and knowledge and has had a huge influence on all of the choir members. People are still talking about it and crying about it now. A very emotional night with lots of new memories created. After the huge success of this concert, we are all hoping this is the start of something big.”