Community-spirited locals, supported by Sutton Council, had organised Wallington’s first ever festive lights switch on outside the headquarters of Orchard Hill College Academy Trust.
Local church groups provided craft activities for children and local businesses had stalls in Wallington Square. Gary Mason Drummers, local choirs and the Salvation Army Band took care of the entertainment and provided music. And of course Santa was there. Almost 500 local people came along and enjoyed the festive fun.
Tom Brake MP said he was overwhelmed by the number of contestants for his competition this year. He said: “Over the past weeks we have been looking through all the entries for my Christmas Card Competition. I received over 600 entries in total, so the competition was very tough! Thank you so much if you encouraged your children to take part, and particular thanks should go to local teachers who went out of their way to encourage their pupils to design cards.”
Wiktor Wolanski is in year 1 at St Elphege’s Catholic School. Wiktor’s winning Christmas Card design will be sent out by Tom to thousands of residents in Carshalton and Wallington, as well as other Members of Parliament, councillors and community representatives.