Transforming lives through life-changing educational opportunities

With the generous support of our community, Caterham is able to provide transformative and life-changing educational opportunities to young people.

“It’s like the poem by Robert Frost ‘The Road Not Taken’ – if I hadn’t come to Caterham I would not have gone to Oxford nor moved to the States. The three institutions that made me are Caterham School, Oxford and MIT – and it all started at Caterham School.”

Geoffrey Kemp OC recipient of a bursary

Caterham’s Transformational Bursaries Appeal was established in 2019 to provide fully funded school places to children aged 11-18 years for whom an education at Caterham would be transformative. I would like to thank everyone who has made a donation since our appeal began. Together, we are collectively changing lives and benefitting from the diversity that this programme brings to our community.

Pupils who receive Transformational Bursaries are known to us as ‘Wilberforce Scholars’. They are given on a means-tested basis to children who either qualify for Free School Meals, or who face particularly challenging circumstances such as being in, or on the edge of, care. We continue to work hard to encourage parents or guardians in the local and wider community to consider this option; crucial to this is the work of the primary schools in the East Surrey Learning Partnership and the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation, a charity with whom we are very proud to work. Applying is only the start of their journey however, as every child that comes to Caterham School on a Transformational Bursary will receive tailored support from a dedicated staff team in addition to the outstanding pastoral care for which Caterham is so renowned. This means that they can flourish among the huge array of opportunities in the school whilst also hitting their educational potential.

At the start of this academic year we welcomed six Wilberforce Scholars to Caterham, bringing the total number currently at Caterham to 15, and with your support we will be welcoming five new children in September 2023.

Two of the newly admitted children have been identified to us by the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard

Foundation, and three of the children are attending primary schools in our local community.

Our evidence shows that the Transformational Bursaries programme is having a measurable impact, transforming individual life chances and building a movement of inspirational role models. It is exciting to see our recent leavers entering university and embarking on their careers, supported by our CaterhamConnected programme, the Old Caterhamians’ Association and our staff. This year a Wilberforce Scholar received an Oxbridge offer – this is a brilliant achievement on their part.

“Without Caterham and the help they have provided for myself and my family, I would be living a very different life compared to the one I am now. I cannot express my gratitude enough.”

Pupil in the Sixth Form

“I have made friends quicker than I expected; I love all the sport and drama, but maths is my favourite subject; I was worried about the amount of homework but have got into a good routine; The teachers and older pupils are always helpful, especially when we are trying to find our way around the school.”

A pupil who has recently joined Caterham Recent leavers include: A university student who is studying for a law degree and is aspiring to become a Barrister.

A graduate of a Russell Group university, who received a degree in finance and is working at an asset management company.

Since 2019 we have provided

Inspiring young people

This academic year I was delighted that we could start an East Surrey Learning Partnership initiative called Saturday Plus. The programme is designed to support local primary school children on Free School Meals who have the potential to thrive at a selective secondary school, but who need help and confidence to pass increasingly competitive entrance processes. The children are following a monthly programme hosted here at Caterham that builds their academic confidence, focussing on the skills and knowledge required for 11+ entrance exams. The programme also encourages their families or carers to apply for Transformational Bursary places to Caterham and other selective schools, and we support them through their application processes. This is a new programme and I look forward to sharing its results with you in the future.

children from five schools have taken part in Saturday Plus this year

Supporting Ukraine

Like many schools in the UK, we recently welcomed Ukrainian refugees to Caterham and we are proud to be playing our part. We have seven incredible Ukrainian pupils in the senior school who are known to us as our ‘Sunflower Scholars’. Each of our Ukrainian pupils receives enhanced academic support such as extra classes in English language. They also benefit from extra support from our wellbeing team. I would like to particularly thank the Caterham families who are hosting our Ukrainian pupils and their families in their homes.

We are supporting seven Sunflower Scholars from Ukraine

Lex Lang

Head Innovation and Partnerships, Caterham Prep School

Helping young children to succeed through community partnerships

At Caterham, we are profoundly grateful for the incredible environment and resources that our pupils enjoy. We believe in extending the benefits of these resources to help those who are beyond our school community.

This conviction has driven us to establish our community partnerships programme, aimed at fostering collaboration, sharing resources, and providing unique learning experiences to local state primary schools and their pupils. We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has generously supported this initiative through donations and voluntary participation.

We have built a strong partnership with a vibrant network of eight primary schools that form the East Surrey Learning Partnership (ESLP) They are St John’s, Audley, Hillcroft, Chestnut, Furzefield, Whyteleafe, New Valley, and Chipstead schools. Additionally, we proudly support Clifton Hill School, a specialised institution providing education for young people with severe learning difficulties and autism, by facilitating their sports provision.

The ESLP aims to enrich learning outcomes across the curriculum through collaborative initiatives such as staff volunteering, sharing best practices, and offering stimulating workshops. A significant development this year, made possible by the generous contributions received on Giving Day, was the establishment of the Partnerships Resource Library. Through our developing partnerships with edtech companies such as Sphero, TTS, CreativeHut and Immersive Experiences, we have been able to secure generous discounts and donations in order to make your contributions go significantly further too. The library serves as a dynamic hub for training and the lending of specialised educational equipment like robotics sets, iPads, and micro:bit microcomputers, all powerful tools for enriching learning through STEM.

An exciting addition to the Resource Library in Summer Term 2023 is our portable planetarium/learning space, dubbed the ‘DOME’ (Deployable Observatory for Multimedia Education) funded by the Parents’ Association. This immersive learning space can host workshops and enrichment activities across various subjects for pupils across Caterham school and Prep, as well as for ESLP schools, both at Caterham and on their own premises. This invaluable resource, which many schools could not afford to access otherwise, helps to widen our educational impact both for our own children and those in the wider community.

Your continued support enables the ESLP to enrich educational experiences across the curriculum. We express our profound gratitude for your invaluable contribution to the community.

“Access to resources and training have had an impact on what teachers at my school teach. Teachers have been exposed to stimulating resources and teaching ideas which has been engaging.”

Deputy Headteacher, St John’s CE Primary Caterham

“Borrowing resources from the Lending Library has allowed me to be more creative with the Computing Curriculum and with English and Maths projects in my year group. The staff training has also positively impacted my ability to be creative with the curriculum using tech and through art.”

Computing Lead, Furzefield Primary School

Some Eslp Facts This Year

8 participating primary schools

125 items loaned through the Resource Library

638 pupils accessing workshops in maths, science, reading, theatre and more

8 teacher training workshops

Lerang’wa

Further away, but no further from our hearts, we have a long-standing partnership with Lerang’wa School which is a primary school close to Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.

The friendship that exists between Caterham and Lerang’wa village primary school is a great privilege to have. Many of our Caterhamians who have been lucky enough to visit Lerang’wa have spoken about the fulfilling and life changing trip, an experience which stays with them forever. Our partnership has endured many challenges, but none as difficult as the COVID pandemic. Annual trips to Lerang’wa were not possible during this time but the school’s Charity Committee continued to work hard to keep our support going.

Donations received during the Giving Day in 2022 gave a great boost to their efforts, providing funding for two years of midday meals to the 900 children attending this school. The simple act of being able to have lunch is highly valued in this vulnerable

Transformation

Local suppliers are used, boosting the local economy and local livelihoods

Children receive a nutritious meal at school – the most vulnerable children receive basic medicines

– Pupils health improves

– Attendance rates improve

– Pupils engage with primary education

– Educational outcomes improve

– Pupils remain in education, enrolment at secondary school increases

– Lerang’wa village supports the school and education

– Local livelihoods improve

– Government support for the local school improves

– Expertise and methods are disseminated local community, and leads directly to improved attendance, concentration and educational outcomes. We hope to resume our annual trip there in 2024, and the Pupil Charity Committee is continuing it’s fundraising for the additional needs that this growing school has before then.

The children and teachers at Lerang’wa School have asked me to send their heartfelt thanks to everyone at Caterham –Asante Sana!

300,000

We have funded over midday meals to 900 Lerang’wa School children. Thank you!

Cathriona Wallace CaterhamConnected Manager