Fans of Christmas spirit and school assembly nostalgia, rejoice! After overwhelming demand for his current 2024 Christmas Assembly tour, which kicked off in Belfast this past weekend and will continue across the UK until December 23rd, the nation’s favourite primary school teacher-turned-Glastonbury Sensation, James B. Partridge, is planning an even bigger holiday season for 2025 with The Big Christmas Assembly! Launching at Nottingham’s Theatre Royal on November 2nd, 2025, this festive tour will bring holiday joy to every corner of the UK through December 22nd, leaving just enough time for James to squeeze in some last-minute Christmas shopping.

How do venues, such as city and countryside venues, shape the Big Christmas Assembly 2025 vibe? Do they alter the shows?

Each venue definitely has its own vibe. This tour is my biggest yet in terms of capacity, and I love that the show works in such a wide range of spaces. Take Brighton Komedia, for example—I’ve played there five times already, and this Christmas will be my sixth. They’ve got two spaces: a cosy 70–80 seater and a larger 280–300 capacity room. The show works in both, but the atmosphere is completely different. I’ve performed in art centres, converted churches, comedy clubs—even a cocktail bar in Soho, which is where this whole idea started. It’s wonderful how flexible it is. Festivals too—it just clicks in so many different settings.

The trickiest venues?

Probably the big beer hall-style ones with long tables, lots of drinks, and lots of chatter. But even then, when people talk during my show, it’s usually because they’ve recognised a song or it sparks a memory: “Remember when this happened at school?” or, “Our teacher used to do this in assembly!” It becomes part of the fun. And if things get a bit too noisy, I can always slip into teacher mode—“All eyes on me!” or “It’s your time you’re wasting!”—which always gets a laugh. It fits the school assembly vibe perfectly.

This year I’m also playing some of my biggest venues ever. Bath Forum, for example, holds 1,500 people—that’s almost double the largest crowd I’ve performed for. I can’t wait to hear that many voices singing together.

What historical Christmas traditions have guided your song choices for this tour?

My Christmas singing memories come from two places: school and church. I grew up going to my local carol service. For me, church was as much about community as it was about religion—it was where I met friends and joined in as part of something bigger.

Some of my best childhood memories are of singing in the school choir, going around care homes at Christmas, or being part of the big carol service. I’m trying to recreate that magic now: that feeling of joy and togetherness that comes from communal singing. That’s what The Big Christmas Assembly is all about—bringing back that sense of wonder.

Do hymns these days still reflect hope?

I think so, absolutely. Whether or not you’re religious, hymns carry meaning. If you have faith, then the words themselves are full of hope and reassurance. But even for those who don’t, singing together creates a positive, hopeful experience. That sense of community is powerful—especially today, when so much of our lives happens online and society feels more divided. Singing together reminds us we’re part of something bigger.

I’ve seen it firsthand in care homes. I’ve sung hymns, folk songs, and even wartime tunes with people who have dementia. And even if they don’t remember what they had for breakfast, the lyrics of childhood songs are still there. Music lights up something in the brain—it’s a bit of hope in a dark tunnel. That’s why I think hymns and songs we grew up with will always carry that spark of hope.

I love how these songs unite generations. You must see that when you look out in the audience.

Definitely. In fact, I’ve been testing it during my current shows. Towards the end, I’ll say, “I know it’s only [whatever month], but would you fancy a Christmas song?” The response is always a deafening “YES!”

Then we pick one using a proper old-school paper fortune teller—you know, the kind we all made in the playground. I put different songs behind each number; someone from the audience picks, and that’s what we sing. It’s silly, it’s nostalgic, and people always belt it out. Christmas songs are brilliant because they’ve barely changed across generations. Regular assembly songs might shift with the times, but Christmas tunes? They’re timeless. Sure, we throw in a few pop hits now—Mariah Carey or Wham! still dominate the charts—but those songs are decades old now, and everyone knows them. From grandparents to kids, the whole room joins in. That’s the magic.

How do you modernise Christmas hymns while preserving traditions?

Christmas is rooted in religious tradition, but almost everyone celebrates it in some way. Our whole working year is shaped around it, from the holidays to the adverts.

If I had to write a brand-new Christmas song for schools, I’d want it to reflect the traditions of the season without being overly heavy on religious imagery. Something about family, coming together, that sort of thing.

In my shows, I mix it up. We do the classic carols like O Come, All Ye Faithful or Hark the Herald Angels Sing, but we also throw in slightly newer songs like Little Donkey. That one’s based on the nativity story, but it was released as a pop single in the 1960s—so it straddles the line between traditional and modern. Then of course we do some Christmas number ones—because you can’t ignore the pop side of it.

It’s that balance I love: honouring the old traditions while keeping things fun, fresh, and inclusive.

So what’s the ultimate goal of The Big Christmas Assembly 2025?

At its heart, it’s about joy. It’s about taking people back to that childhood feeling of singing together in school assemblies and carol services, but on a massive scale. Whether we’re in a tiny comedy club, a converted church, or a 1,500-seat theatre, the goal is the same: to get everyone singing, laughing, and remembering the magic of Christmas songs. For an hour or two, the outside world ceases to exist, and we are all simply part of a single, somewhat chaotic school choir.

And honestly, I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Christmas.

Photos courtesy of James B. Partridge

James’s journey has taken him from school classrooms to some of the UK’s biggest stages. Highlights include performing with Gareth Malone’s Voices at the Royal Variety Show and providing vocals for major artists like Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, and Electric Light Orchestra. His media presence has only grown, with appearances on BBC Breakfast, The One

Show, CBBC Newsround, BBC Scotland, ITV’s This Morning, BBC Radio 2 with Jeremy Vine and Scott Mills, and Virgin Radio with Tom Allen.

Whether you’re reminiscing about your own school days or introducing these classic songs to a new generation, The Big Christmas Assembly is guaranteed to provide the (festive) cheer!

Tickets are on sale now and available from jamesbpartridge.com
Catch James B Partridge with THE BIG CHRISTMAS ASSEMBLY LIVE!

2-Nov-25 Nottingham Theatre Royal
3-Nov-25 Lancaster Grand Theatre
4-Nov-25 Glasgow Pavilion Theatre
6-Nov-25 Sheffield Memorial Hall
11-Nov-25 Leeds City Varieties
23-Nov-25 Liverpool M&S Bank Arena Auditorium
27-Nov-25 Darlington Hippodrome
12-Dec-25 Stoke Victoria Hall
19-Dec-25 Manchester New Century
21-Dec-25 Chorley Theatre
22-Dec-25 Huddersfield Town Hall