Phone Nicky Harris 01943 875146 or Bev Osborne 0113 2665785

The parents' association of Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge, near Leeds / Bradford

Welcome to the Friends of Woodhouse Grove
Welcome to the Friends of Woodhouse Grove

WELCOME to Friends of Woodhouse Grove, the parents' association of Woodhouse Grove School!

Friends is all about socialising and having fun at a wide variety of events throughout the year. In the process we raise a great deal of money for clubs and other areas within the school plus our annual Leavers' Awards.

Last year we raised an incredible £4,690.65 in total. Hopefully in 2009, with your help, we'll raise even more! So please keep coming back to this website where you'll find news of events and much more!

New parents - it was great to meet you at the school's New Parents Evening!

And, if you were collared by Bev or Nicky, you'll know we're really keen to invite interested new parents to join our PTA committee in September.

Joining Friends is one of the best possible ways to get stuck into life at 'The Grove' really quickly and get to know other parents and staff.

So if you're interested, why not get in touch via our Contact Page or have a word with us at our September New Parents drinks reception (see right for details)?

Last year lots of new parents joined us... and some of these are new parents again this September as their younger children join The Grove... so you'll be in good company!

Fantastic news!

We've been doing our sums and, so far, the amount we've raised this academic year is significantly UP on what we raised last year... and we thought that last year was brilliant!

So thanks to everyone that's been coming to our events this year... the Quiz Night, Christmas Fair, Ice Skating and our very successful Wine Evening! >

Remember, every penny we raise goes towards your children's experience at 'The Grove'!

Staff sponsored cycle ride

With a little more money in the pot this year we were delighted to be able to help the staff in their recent sponsored cycle ride.

Friends paid for the cost of breakfast every day - porridge, locally sourced bacon and hot drinks (prepared and enjoyed in a freezing cold field!) as well as ‘team nibbles’ en route.

Spending spree!

Thanks to so many people coming to our events this year, we've raised a packet!

We're in the process of spending this money very wisely, allocating cash to even more clubs and groups within the school. So even more of our children will benefit from extra equipment and kit this year. Brilliant! More news coming soon!

Next Friends meeting - AGM, Friday 11th September 6pm

The next Friends meeting is at 6pm on Friday 11th September 2009 in the HLG bar, directly before the New Parents' Evening. All welcome!!

Friends' events - it's YOUR child that benefits!

Every ticket you buy goes directly towards enhancing your child's experience at 'The Grove'. The MORE tickets we sell, the MORE things we can buy and the MORE children benefit - across the WHOLE school.

The bar is usually open at events and supper is often included, so please keep buying tickets - it's YOUR child that benefits!

New Parents Evening, Friday 11th September 2009 - all new parents welcome!

Our next official event is the New Parents' drinks reception evening held at the end of the first week of term.

Organised by Friends in partnership with the school, it's an event where we invite form tutors, key members of staff, the Headmaster and all new parents to come along and share a glass or two of wine with us.

It's a superb chance to compare notes with other new parents and chat to staff about any issues that may have arisen during the first week. Entry is FREE for all new parents and cheese and wine are provided.

This is always a hugely popular event (which may or may not have something to do with the complementary wine!)

If your son or daughter is starting at Woodhouse Grove in September, read more about our New Parents Evening here>>

Quiz Night - Friday 16th October 2009

Last year this was a 'sell out' event - and this October our famous Quiz Night is scheduled for Friday the 16th. Tickets will be on sale from the summer onwards with a PayPal link appearing on this website in due course.

Christmas Craft & Gift Fair - Saturday 21st November 2009

Watch this space for more details of the Christmas Shopping Fair that just gets bigger and better every year!

Ice Skating - Sunday 31st January 2010

Kids, their friends, neighbours, relatives, parents, staff... EVERYONE is welcome at what is always one of our most popular events of the year! Watch this space for more details.

Important news

Supporting groups around the school

Not been to an event yet? Here's why you should!

We've always said that the main purpose of the Friends of Woodhouse Grove is for parents to meet and socialise. Our secondary purpose is to raise funds - but of course the more tickets we sell, the more money we make!

Our funds are used to purchase vital equipment for clubs and groups around the school, items that aren't covered by school fees.

So without Friends' donations, our children's experience at Woodhouse Grove wouldn't be as rich and varied as it is. Ideally, we'd like to help even more clubs and groups - but to do this, we need you to support our events.

It's your child that benefits from our fundraising!

Virtually every area within the school has benefited from our donations: the Medical Centre, Theatre, Swim Club, school musicians, sports groups, Climbing Club, Fencing Club, ESOL and many more plus our annual Scholarship awards.

Your child is almost certainly benefiting from the money we raise. So if you haven't been to an event, please do make an effort to support us in 2009/10.

We made lots of money via our Christmas Fair and Ice Skating - and our plea to see more parents at our social events must have worked because many of our events have been a sell-out! Keep on buying tickets!

Join the Friends of Woodhouse Grove!

Recruitment drive!

The main thing about Friends of Woodhouse Grove is that it's about... friends! And the parents and staff on our committee get on brilliantly - so much so that it's often difficult to stick to the agenda at our meetings; everyone wants to gossip and chat!

So we're genuinely sad when parents of older pupils move on as their children leave the school - and this year we're losing some of our most active and long-standing committee members.

The good news is we've welcomed quite a few new parents to our committee - but there's always room for more. So if you'd like to join us, especially if you're a new parent whose child is joining The Grove in September, we'd be delighted to welcome you. It's also one of THE best ways to get stuck into life at Woodhouse Grove quickly.

Just turn up at our next meeting - or call Bev on 0113 2665785 if you'd like to find out more. Or contact us via our contact page.

Shop online via our affiliate link and help raise money for Friends!

Click here to shop online and raise money for Friends!

The pink 'shopping bag' link on the right takes you to hundreds of leading online stores - and every time you make a purchase we get commission!

It's a great way to raise money by doing something we all love... shopping!... without having to pay a penny more than if you clicked onto the stores direct.

Affiliate site

Books, music, clothes, gifts... you'll find them all - through stores you'll recognise.

It's well worth doing because the commission really DOES add up over the year - you'd be amazed!!!

For an A-Z list of participating stores and to start shopping, click here>>

News from the Grove

See us in News from the Grove and The Grovian

For the past couple of years we've been allocated the back cover of News From the Grove, the twice yearly news publication produced by the school. So please check out the latest issue!

You'll also find us in the school magazine, The Grovian, which is published every Autumn. We're near the back, with a full page round-up of events held throughout the year. And we're on the school website, too!

Copyright 2008/9 Friends of Woodhouse Grove, Woodhouse Grove School. Chairman - Nicky Harris, c/o Woodhouse Grove School, Apperley Bridge, West Yorkshire, BD10 0NR.

 

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