A whopping £6,830 spent on groups, clubs and activities across the school in 2010
Every penny you spend on tickets goes towards enhancing your child's experience of The Grove - and every year we manage to support MORE groups and activities across the school!
These are clubs and groups which aren't normally covered by school fees. So if we didn't raise the money, they wouldn't be able to buy the essential kit and equipment they need. We thought that last year's fund-raising was brilliant but nothing could have prepared us for the amount we raised this year... a whopping, stupendous, mammoth £6,830!!!
SPEND! SPEND! SPEND! Handing out cheques - left, right and centre!
There's nothing Friends of WG like doing more than spending money - and this June we had an amazing £6,830 in the kitty - that's over DOUBLE what we raised last year!!!!
So it was out with our chequebook for the biggest spending spree we've ever had!!
First, we gave £3,000 to the gym refurb programme (money raised from our recent Auction of Promises). Then we gave £300 to the Boarding and Arts Club for materials, £300 towards an athletics discus cage, £380 towards a CD player and £2,000 towards stage equipment for the school theatre. We've been able to increase the amount we give to our Friends Awards candidates - a total of £850 this year.
Wow!!! We are amazed at your generosity this year!!!
We work hard to organise events... you come along and enjoy them, hopefully raising a bit of money in the process (or a MASSIVE AMOUNT in this year's case)... we donate it to groups like those above... and your kids benefit! A brilliant combination! Thanks everyone!
Here are some past groups and activities we've been able to help...
Science Club
Miss Landy says: "Just an email to thank the Friends for the generous award given to Science Club this term. Both I, and the 20-something students who attend Science Club, have had the most wonderful time so far. It has really helped 'sell' science to other pupils, and the notice board with pictures has led to a lot of excited discussion and comment."
Art Club
Andrew Holdsworth runs the lower school Art Club and this year we donated £300 to enable Andrew to purchase essential materials to make the Art Club a much more rewarding experience for younger pupils in the school.
Andrew and his Art Club have also kindly offered to produce some posters for us advertising our Christmas Fair to pupils. Thanks everyone!
Staff sponsored cycle ride
With a little more money in the pot in 2008/9 we were delighted to be able to help the staff in their recent sponsored cycle ride in aid of the Kenya School Project.
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. Looks like Mr Howard needed that cuppa!
Swing Band
Friends enabled the Swing Band to purchase some smart new logo'd shirts the other year.
Since then the Band has taken part in every major concert at the school - and various concerts outside school too.
The Band told us: "We're thrilled with the shirts and they have definitely helped the street cred of the band - many thanks to Friends!"
ESOL (English as a Second Language)
Friends' £200 donation to the ESOL department was put towards a TV, Video, DVD player and an assortment of guided readers. the class sets of books have already proved very popular with the students. ESOL's Mr Nelson told us: "Students love the opportunity to read an exciting story, learn new vocabulary and practise their pronunciation."
The TV, video and DVD player have also proved a useful addition to the department by allowing staff yet another medium to help with their teaching.
Climbing Club
The school's climbing club spent the £400 donated by Friends on harnesses, ropes, helmets and other essential equipment.
Medical Centre
Friends have paid for a range of visual aids and respiratory dummies for training purposes at the school's Medical Centre and also some funky soft furnishings to brighten up the Centre.
Fencing Club
Friends have made a number of donations to the Fencing Club to enable them to buy important equipment.
Mrs Bruce told us: "Thanks to the continual support of Friends we are able to equip our young fencers sufficiently to enable them to compete at national level."
Friends Award
Every year Friends hand a special Friends Award (or Scholarship) to a school leaver or senior pupil moving on to higher education, training or planning a worthwhile gap year activity (the pic on the right shows our 2006 winner, Joanne Grainger).
You can find out more about the Friends Awards and the worthwhile causes our winners have taken part in here>>
Sixth Form Centre
Friends donated £500 towards resources for the sixth form centre. The money was spent on a set of smart, sturdy wooden garden benches to transform what was essentially a bare courtyard into an attractive outdoor seating area.
Head of sixth form Mrs Enthoven told us: "We wanted to create a welcoming and relaxing environment for students outside the sixth form building - away from the hustle and bustle of the rest of the school. Our smart new benches do the job admirably. They're used all year round, too, not just in the warmer months. One bench spent the winter inside the locker room providing much needed seating, then it was carried out again when the weather improved in the spring."
Swim Team
Last year Friends helped the swim team to buy more essential training equipment including starting blocks - and this year we've donated some more money to the team.
In the past donations have enabled the team to purchase special 'tea bag' vests (seen in the pic on the right) plus flippers, hand and finger paddles.
Enthusiastic swimmer Murray MacFarlane has been impressed. "We've used the flippers and finger paddles a lot", he says. "In fact the finger paddles have really made me aware of where I'm going wrong with a stroke. They're not easy to get used to but they've definitely helped me strengthen my arms and keep my fingers close together."
Experienced swimmer Jack Baker agreed. "I really notice that my muscles and shoulders ache more after using the paddles but they've made me realise the benefit of pushing my hands right through the water to complete each stroke. They've also made me notice how my hands enter the water and this has meant I've been able to improve my front crawl technique. The paddles are great - they add variety to the training!"
Theatre
Friends enabled the theatre to purchase a sparkling new star cloth which looks spectacular at events especially the school Christmas Concert and the annual Year 7 Variety Show.
The theatre's Andrew Copping told us: "Thanks to Friends for their contribution towards this very expensive item. It's absolutely tremendous and simply transforms the bare stage which we would otherwise have for concerts."