On Saturday night the Parikiaki were guests at the St Demetrios Greek school’s annual dinner and dance. The school is a privately funded school, helping Greek and Cypriot children of the local community learn the Greek language and understand more about their Greek and Cypriot heritage, their culture and traditional values. They were founded in 1970 and with it’s close affiliation with St Demetrios church in Edmonton, they also help the pupils learn some of the religious foundations the Greek Orthodox Church is built on. The school operates every Tuesday and Thursday evenings, from 5.45 till 7.45, then again on Saturdays from 9.30 till 1.30. Depending on availability and suitability, pupils can choose whether to attend the midweek classes or the weekend one. The school teaches pupils from 4 years old through to both GCSE and A level, and is also an examining centre.
Guests at the dinner and dance on Saturday were treated to an evening of fun and festivities with pupils from each year group performing traditional Greek Cypriot dances. These included The Sirto, Sousta, dancing with the Tatsia, Hasapiko, Zeimbekiko and ending with a heart warming Sirtaki, followed by welcoming all parents and guests to fill the dancefloor with a fast and furious Sousta.
With over 400 people in attendance, the school was also attended by Councillor Alex Georgiou, a former pupil of the school and now a rising figure in the Conservative party for the Cockfosters and Southgate Ward, Theodoros Kotsis the Consul General of the High Commission of Cyprus in the UK, who also spoke about the importance of heritage and the services offered by the office of the High Commission, along with TV coverage from Helenic TV. Other speakers on the evening were Father John Hookway of the St Demetrios Church who continues to be a proud supporter and influencer at the school, the Head teacher Stavroula Prodromou who has lead the school through countless successful years and also, the Chairman Andreas Chrysanthou who spoke with passion about the importance of heritage and cited a well known Greek proverb which read ‘A society grows when we plant trees whose shade we know we will never sit in’.
Speaking to Andreas earlier on in the evening, he was quite open about the challenges faced in trying to build and maintain the intake of any Greek language school for the current generation. The reasons cited were mainly because most of the pupils now are 3rd generation Cypriots whose parents themselves may not speak Greek frequently and some even not at all. Therefore, unlike his generation where it was essential to learn the language, as it was the first language of his parents, this is a very different story today. It is because of this change and subsequent dilution that Andreas thinks is the reason we’ve seen a fall in numbers across all Greek language schools in the UK, and have even seen the closure of some. Therefore with the support of the teaching staff and the school committee, the school remain creative by holding Talent evenings aptly named St Demetrios’ Got Talent, Kouzina days where Cypriot cooking talents are celebrated along with Quiz nights for parents and friends of St Demetrios. These events coupled with a strong teaching staff under the leadership of the Head teacher, the school can hopefully remain well placed to support the next generation of young Greeks and Cypriots.
With so many people on their feet all night, partying until late, this was a routine dinner and dance and there will have definitely been some tired folk waking up late on Fathers day but will have, as I did, an opportunity to reflect on such a successful night. Well done to the team at St Demetrios Greek school.
The school is now enrolling for the next academic year and for more information, you should contact office@stdgs.co.uk