Calum Scott surprised an entire school with a message of thanks after a video of the school performing his song ‘Rise’ reached him.
Hillcrest, South Africa (10 December 2024) – The Hillcrest Primary School got a massive surprise this week when THE Calum Scott popped up on their screen during an assembly to give thanks to the school for their beautiful rendition of his song ‘Rise’.
Hillcrest Primary School student MacKenzie Kuijken had never dreamed that her attempt to get her school’s video to Calum Scott would work, but she found a way. The very last thing she expected in return was a response. That was the biggest surprise of all!
The MacKenzie and her Grade 7 class performed the song in September, and when she heard that her uncle had a connection to Calum’s management team, she asked him if he could send a video of the performance to him in the hopes that he would send a message to the school.
MacKenzie shared that she got the chance to watch Calum perform live and so having him see her performance, is a dream come true!
“I got to see Calum perform in Durban,” says MacKenzie, “and it was one of the best experiences of my life so the idea that he could see how his music and life story was inspiring us all the way in KZN was really exciting.”
Her mother, Karen Kuijken, tried to monitor expectations while still encouraging her daughter to reach for things that appeared to be out of her reach.
“Parenting is always a balancing act,” says Karen. “On the one hand, you want to encourage your children to pursue things that they never thought possible. On the other, you don’t want them to be disappointed and hurt when they don’t work out. So I told her to create room for both experiences, to take a risk but also be prepared for the fact that it may not pay off.”
Well… Calum got to see the video and decided to respond. He congratulated them on their hard work and told them how much the video of them singing his song made him smile. He wished them the best for 2025 and even signed off with a ‘lekker bru’.
Calum first rose to prominence in April 2015 after competing on the ITV talent contest Britain’s Got Talent, where he performed a cover of Robyn’s hit “Dancing on My Own” and earned a Golden Buzzer from Simon Cowell. He performed at sold-out shows in South Africa in 2018, 2022 and 2023 as part of his ‘Human’ and ‘Bridges’ World Tours.
Taking the time from his busy schedule to surprise the school was an act of kindness like no other. He gave each of the students something exciting to talk about for the holidays and a memory to remember forever.
The video got to the school just in time; MacKenzie’s mother and uncle got the video to the school just before the final assembly and arranged for it to be played as a surprise for all the students, just before the Grade 7 students were set to perform the song one last time, to close the chapter on 2024.
“It means a lot to be seen.” says Grade 7 teacher Dorothy Storm “Seen for the work you put into the students and the work that they put into their studies. Receiving a message like this from someone like Calum is the kind of moment that reminds you that even the smallest things we do has value. We’re proud of MacKenzie for having the courage to pursue things that may seem a world away. She is part of LEAP, our accelerated academic program for high achievers and definitely represents the spirit we try to install in all our students here at Hillcrest Primary School.”
Watch the amazing video below, and the best part, the class performed the song one last time for the school (and for us all to enjoy):
Sources: Supplied
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