Brave Senior School teachers swapped whiteboards for microphones as they gamely took to the stage at Colfe’s inaugural Comedy Night, a fundraising event that was the brainchild of three student members of EDI committee.
The idea was born from a concept championed last by three then‑Year 10 students now in Year 11, Verity, Isabel and Grace, who cited their inspiration as being their “genuinely funny teachers”. Funds raised from the event will go to Hurricane Melissa relief efforts, chosen as a cause that struck a chord with the EDI Committee.
The evening was confidently compered by the three students, who guided the audience of pupils from act to act with warmth and humour.
The evening’s acts showcased the talents of the teachers across a variety of comedy styles, from a droll English‑department double act with plenty of literary in‑jokes to a classic stand-up routine full of quick-fire gags, and a witty skit packed with Maths puns (“I don’t want to go off on a tangent but that’s enough about my problems, the Maths department has enough of their own”) that elicited plenty of good-humoured groans. Other acts included a lively multilingual performance complete with quizzes and audience participation, an autobiographical tale of a disastrous haircut and the seven stages of follicular grief, a comedy character, some hilarious pitch‑perfect observations on school life, and some gentle roasting of fellow staff members that had the students roaring.
The EDI Committee is a long-running school society, with close ties with related societies including FemSoc, LGBTQ Soc, Asian Society and African-Caribbean Society. Past Committee events include Culture Day, Asian Day and the Charlton Rainbow Parade community event. Organisers and staff alike hope the Comedy evening may become an annual tradition or even evolve into a House Comedy competition.
