The St Dunstan's Festival is our annual explosion of activity that celebrates and elevates all that we are at the College. We have 11 days and evenings packed with performances, exhibitions, workshops, lectures and competitions; there is truly something for everything.

St Dunstan's Festival 2023 

25 June 2023 - 5 July 2023 

The St Dustan’s Festival is an explosion of activity that encapsulates our DNA as a college.  One of the key goals is to share who we are and what we have, and in doing so to celebrate and value the wider community that we are part of.

Each year we strive to broaden our reach, engaging with local states schools, community groups but in order to do so requires increased financial investment into the Festival itself. Our vision for the future is to see the Festival as central to the cultural life of the local area, offering opportunities for local people to be involved in curating and delivering events, and offering our students the chance to serve and give back to the local area. 

We have been fortunate to receive sponsorship from local companies in the past but for the Festival to grow we are reaching out to more people and businesses to find way of partnering in reaching our aims. With your help The Festival could become significant in the lives of all those in Catford and beyond. 

We would really appreciate any sponsorship that you feel you could give and have put together a series of packages of benefits for our sponsors. 

Thank you for your kind consideration.

Richard Gregg

Festival Director

Read the full Festival guide

History

St Dunstan's Festival originated in the 1990s under the stewardship of Dr Anthony Seldon, who was Deputy Head of the College at that time. It was originally named ‘The Catford Arts Festival’ and ran over two and a half days at the very start of July.

The Festival was quickly dubbed ‘The Edinburgh Festival of South London’, and comprised over twenty main events and ‘a rich and enterprising fringe’. The 1994 College Chronicle describes the Festival as ‘catering for the souls’ and it contained an array of eclectic events including the St Dunstan’s jazz group, lectures given by writers Brian Masters and Gwendoline Butler, and a Shakespeare play with a twist, entitled ‘A Pocket of Midsummer Night’s Dream’.

Growth and Change

The Festival was short-lived, only lasting a few years. The current Head reignited the Festival on his arrival at the College, with its relaunch occurring in the summer of 2015. The now two-week event is a firmly established highlight at the end of the academic year, enabling pupils to engage with a huge variety of activities and performances, involving not only the College, but also our broader Lewisham community.

Local Support 

Kinleigh Folkard & Hayward - KFH deliver a comprehensive range of estate agency and property services across the London market. KFH have shown their ongoing support for the St Dunstan’s Festival over the past few years.

The Dunstonian Association - The Dunstonian Association, formerly known as the Old Dunstonian Association, is the alumni organisation for former pupils and staff at the college. Each year, the association sponsors a number of events (including the St Dunstan’s Festival) for its members and sports clubs which members can join. The association also supports senior pupils with career advice and work experience placements.

Watch the highlights from our 2022 Festival

Photos from 2022

Photos from 2021