2023–24
Thank you to everyone who has supported the School community this year.
WELCOME
I am delighted to share our 2023–24 Impact Report with you. This report is a testament to the generous Downe House community and its belief in the transformative effect that education can have. Our ethos has a strong sense of service underpinning it and I am proud of the ways in which our pupils and staff have played a positive role in the local and wider community. Our girls should always aim to use their excellent education to give back and leave the world a better place and I hope you will agree that there is plenty of evidence of this in the pages that follow.
It also showcases the extraordinary generosity of those who have supported the School’s development and demonstrates the impact that philanthropic gifts have on our pupils. I am most grateful to all those who have made a gift to the School to help us to achieve our ambitious plans. We remain indebted, in particular, to all those who ensured our gym refurbishment was completed this summer, which you can read more about on page 8.
On behalf of the girls and my colleagues, thank you to everyone who has contributed to the progress and enhancement of the School community in 2023-24, helping us to give an educational experience that matches each pupil’s needs and aspirations and enabling the girls in turn to leave a positive mark on others. We would also like to thank those parents who have given up their time and expertise by being Parent Ambassadors or who have spoken to girls at the school. Your support is fundamental to our success.
MRS EMMA MCKENDRICK HEADMISTRESS
A MESSAGE FROM OUR SENIORS
When we took on our positions as Head Senior and Deputy Head Senior, we set out with clear aims: to improve the community and the school experience for every student at Downe House. One of our top priorities has been to integrate different year groups, creating a more close-knit environment, as well as improving the school’s environmental sustainability. It has been a privilege to witness the incredible efforts of everyone involved, and we are deeply grateful for the dedication and enthusiasm shown in supporting our cause.
We believe that charity is one of the most important focuses for those privileged enough to make a positive change in the world, and we should take full advantage
of the opportunities available to us. Charity is not just about giving – it’s about making a real difference in the lives of those who need it most. It’s a reminder that we all have the power to contribute to something greater than ourselves, and through our collective efforts, we can bring about meaningful change.
Moreover, we want to express how grateful and proud we are of the Seniors and students for their commitment to service and for raising an incredible amount of money for various charities. Together, we have raised substantial funds, and the impact of this support will be felt for years to come.
EMI LIM (HEAD SENIOR) AND ANJOLA BOLODEOKU (DEPUTY HEAD SENIOR) ON BEHALF OF THE SENIORS
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND CHARITABLE GIVING
Downe House has always looked beyond the school gates to learn from others. In recent years, we have grown our community engagement programme, equipping our girls with our culture of service and a better understanding of the world around them.
We are actively involved with the Cold Ash Parish, welcoming community members to events at School such as our regular informal concerts in the Murray Centre – known as ‘Murray Moments’, our annual firework show, and Medley Lectures. Our Lower School pupils have contributed proudly to the redevelopment of the Cold Ash Recreation Ground.
During the festive season, we spread joy to the elderly members of our community through our Christmas parcel delivery program, sponsored by Newbury News. Our annual Christmas Gift Fair, run with the help of our parents, raises funds for local charities at Christmas.
We have extended support to Prior’s Court School for young people with complex autism, offering
gardening services to enhance their outdoor spaces.
Our fundraising efforts for Morgan’s Message and the Charlie Waller Trust have helped spread positive messages supporting mental health and provided crucial aid for those in crisis. A Sponsored Walk and a lively Mufti Day raised valuable funds and spread awareness of the vital work these charities undertake.
Without groups like yours, our charity wouldn’t be able to keep the site safe, tidy and engaging for autistic young people with complex needs that live and learn here. You also help us reach more people to educate and raise awareness and of course help raise essential funds. We truly appreciate your support and can’t wait to welcome you back in the future. Thank you!
PRIOR’S COURT SCHOOL
SCHOOL INTERVIEW EXCHANGE
On 16 November 2023, 78 students from four other local schools (St Bartholomew’s School, The Kennet School, The Downs School and Park House School) joined with DH aspiring Oxbridge candidates for a day of mock Oxbridge interview sessions. The DH teachers and teachers from the local schools gave all pupils a chance to refine their interview skills and share their aspirations with one another.
STATE SCHOOL GOVERNORS
Seven Downe House staff are governors at state schools.
CHARITY FUNDRAISING
Alongside opportunities to volunteer their time, pupils regularly organise events that raise funds for charities and encourage the collection of donations too. This includes initiatives such as: West Berkshire Women’s Aid; West Berkshire Foodbank and BowelBabe charity.
Our Boarding Houses have long-established links with charities around the world and organise ambitious fundraising initiatives throughout the year which involve all the girls in each House: AGN supports Sparkes Homes in Sri Lanka. AGS supports Hope Asia and the Hosanna Children’s Home in Myanmar. Aisholt supports Reality Gives. Holcombe supports Open Arms Malawi. Tedworth supports Stepping Stones School in Malawi. West Berkshire Women’s Aid; West Berkshire Foodbank and BowelBabe charity.
A huge thank you on behalf of our students for the organisation of this event. We appreciate all the hard work behind it!
ALISON LANE, HEAD OF SIXTH FORM, ST BARTHOLOMEW’S SCHOOL
Our Sixth Form pupils visit 20 local primary schools as part of their Community Service. Our Reading Programme pairs them with younger children at these schools to nurture literacy skills.
In 2023/24, our community raised £34,367 for charities around the world.
MAD DAY
On Monday, 1 July 2024, Downe House went MAD!
Make A Difference – or MAD –Day is a chance for every pupil to make a contribution to the local community.
Downe House students hosted just over 200 pupils from six local primary schools. Some of our students also ventured off-site to volunteer at primary schools, farms and care homes, including Prior’s Court School (for young autistic people), Marcham Primary School near Abingdon, Thatcham Foodbank, one of our local Care Homes and the allotments in Cold Ash Village. A taskforce of our Sixth Form girls also visited local residents who live very near our school to help them with gardening and cleaning in their own homes and gardens. A large group of our pupils visited Radley College’s Countryside Centre which is a hugely valuable learning resource for people in Oxfordshire.
Some of the projects which our girls led during MAD Day:
3D Design
Creating ‘Shooting Stars’ for the pupils to take home
Creative Arts
Learning how to paint a portrait
Science
Learning about the solar system and completing various fun experiments
Cookery
Creating all sorts of tasty treats!
Drama Fun
Being a Pirate for the day!
Languages
Starter courses in Chinese and German
Maths Fun
Completing a rage of number and other puzzles indoors and outdoors
Geography
Observing and learning about nature in Downe House’s grounds
Swimming
Developing swim skills in our own pool
Sport
A range of sports activities on our playing fields
Wonderful Woodlands
Exploring Downe House’s private woodland and designing a nature trail
BURSARIES
A Downe House education has shaped my life. It is simply the most fantastic opportunity you can give anyone.
SERENA (DH 2013)
Serena was awarded a transformational bursary to Downe House, and it made a significant impact on her life. Joining us from a large comprehensive school, she particularly loved science lessons and was inspired to go on to study Biomedical Sciences with Medical Microbiology at university.
After a brief time in finance, Serena decided she wanted to work with people and so returned to her first love of science – quitting the corporate world to train in midwifery and a career driven by her values. She now works as a community-based midwife and aims to lead a team as a specialist or senior practitioner.
THE ARMED FORCES FUND
The Armed Forces Fund continues to provide up to 100% fee support for children of servicemen and servicewomen who are killed or injured while serving their country. The endowed fund now stands at £2,800,000 and has supported the education of seven children through Radley, St Mary’s Calne and Downe House.
In 2023–24, 40 girls are benefitting from full and partial means-tested bursaries. We would like to go further, and we hope that the Downe House community will help to support our vision.
Your support will help us to give a life-changing Downe House education to deserving girls whose family would otherwise be unable to afford the fees. These pupils’ contribution will in turn have a transformative impact upon all our pupils, our School and wider society. To donate, please visit downehousesociety.net/pages/make-a-gift
PARTNERSHIP WITH SPRINGBOARD
We are delighted to have partnered with Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation (RNCSF), a social mobility charity which works to bring the transformational opportunities offered by the UK’s leading schools to the young people who will benefit from them the most. You can read more here.
A CELEBRATION OF COLLECTIVE PHILANTHROPY
Friday,
20th September
2024 marked the official opening of the amazing new Downe House gym – kitted out with state-ofthe-art equipment and set to add a whole new dimension to our sport and fitness provision.
We were delighted to welcome alumna, Anna Neville (DH 2020) – England lacrosse midfielder – who cut the ribbon and then remained with us for the day to talk to the girls about her pathway to sporting success, and to run some high-energy coaching sessions. This new facility cost £200,000 and was made possible by the extraordinary generosity of alumnae and parents, past and present, for which we are extremely grateful. The muchimproved workout space with new equipment will benefit the health and wellbeing of our whole community.
Downe House is only the outstanding institution that it is today thanks to the philanthropy of our community. The project showed how a community can come together to deliver a project that will benefit generations of pupils and at the same time preserve and enhance the fabric of our buildings.
Thank you to everyone who helped revitalise our gym.
Our gym donors (with thanks also to those who wish to remain anonymous)
POJU ADEDEJI AND MUSONDA KASONDE FIONA AND PHILIP ANDREWS DAVID ASHLEY SIMON BAKEWELL AND JOANNE ZHANG
LAURA AND WILLIAM BELL KEN BELOTSKIY AND INNA UZBERG THE BENSON FAMILY MICHAEL AND JANE BEVAN NEIL BEVERIDGE AND CHERONA PENG CHARLOTTE AND KENNETH BLACK THE BOUCHER FAMILY KATIE AND CONSTANTINE BRIDGEMAN FIONA AND MARK BURGES WATSON SAMANTHA AND EDWARD BUTTERWORTH LINDA AND MATTHIEU CHASSAGNE ON BEHALF OF YU ONEIRA CHIANG PAUL CHOW AND ANDA WONG KIN HO CHU AND YUN CHIN TAN
KATHERINE AND ANDREW CROWSTON KATHERINE DAINTON CATHERINE DARROUE JOANNA DAVIES PAOLA DIANA
MICHAEL DONG AND SELINA WEI ALISON AND SIMON EDELSTEN LOUISA AND ROSS ELDER CHARLES AND SARAH FARQUHAR
THE FERNIE FAMILY CATHERINE AND RUPERT FLEMING ANGELA AND VERNON FLYNN LISA AND HAKEEM FOLAWIYO
THE FOWLER FAMILY ON BEHALF OF KIMBERLY GAN MERLE AND GORDON GRANT ADAM AND LISSA GROSS DAYU GUO AND LING JIN ON BEHALF OF LARA AND NIAMH HALLAS ON BEHALF OF LARA HARRIES RACHEL AND PETER HARRISON ROBYN AND ANDREW HINE
CRISTINA HO JOHNNY HON ELSPETH AND JAMES HORDERN JINKE HU AND WENYA LU PIERS HUDSON AND SARAH DALTON
ALICE AND JACK HUI EMMA AND MARK JACKAMAN ROBERT JOLLEY JOSEPH KING AND LANCY KUNG
VICTORIA AND YURI KOVALCHUK ON BEHALF OF KATIE LAM K.C. LAM AND L. WONG BEN AND LAUREL LANGWORTHY
PRAOWPHAN AND SARAVUT LAOHAPONGCHANA JENNY AND IVAN LAU KEISHA JO LAWLER ON BEHALF OF SARA LEE ON BEHALF OF SOPHIE LI LEI LING KAI LIU AND YANYI CHEN YU AND ZHE LIU SONG LU AND SHIRLEY LI ZHENG AND TIANYING MA
CHARLOTTE AND OLIVER MACKANESS CATHERINE AND NIGEL MANSON THE MARSH FAMILY SARAH AND RUPERT MATHEWS
KATHRIN AND ALEXANDER MCCLINTOCK SALLY AND ALASTAIR MCNAIR SCOTT NICOLA AND JOHNNY NEILL
SOPHIE AND JAMES NEILL PIPPA AND MATTHEW NEVILLE ON BEHALF OF AIKO NIVATANONDA JAEYONG OH AND EUNJOUNG BAN MIEBAKA AND AMBROSE OVBIEBO PINGGUAN PAN AND CUI ZHANG TRACY AND CHRISTOPHER PEARSON NINA AND ANDREW PEDDIE TANIA AND DOMINIC PEMBERTON THIRU AND SIVA PIRATHAPAN ON BEHALF OF TESS PRAKITRITANON ON BEHALF OF NAIMA QIN
TARA AND BENJAMIN REEVE ZHIJIAN REN AND HUIMIN MAI CYNTHIA AND NIGEL RICH ALEXA AND MARK RIDLEY
BEATRICE AND MATTHEW RIDLEY KYLIE AND DAVID ROSA SUSAN AND JUSTIN SHAKESPEARE
VIVEK SHARMA AND RESHMA PATEL-SHARMA ON BEHALF OF YILING SHI ISHBEL AND DERMOT SHORTT THE SHOURIE FAMILY SUSANTI AND ANDREW SITORUS XIAOLONG SONG AND WANGYING LU JEREMY AND KATRINA SPARROW
RACHEL AND PAUL STEPANEK HENRY AND ANTONIA STEWART KATE AND ALEXANDER STEWART THE TAM FAMILY CHIRADHIP TEJASEN AND MINGKWAN LOTHARUKPONG STEVE TING REBECCA AND PATRICK TREW ANNE AND JOSEPH TUITE ON BEHALF OF TEAL PATTRAWARAN UAHWATANASAKUL OSCAR VAN DEN BERG AND STEPHANIE JAMISON RACHEL VEROW AND MERRICK MCKAY LIZ AND JUSTIN VIR GAYNOR AND EDWARD VOÛTE ROBERT WESSMAN AND KSENIA SHAKHMANOVA SAM WONG AND LAI SHAN LEE HELEN, JAMES AND SUSIE WOOD CHANG MING WU AND CATHERINE LAU MILLIE XU HONGMING YANG AND LIJUN HE ON BEHALF OF KATY YAO QINGSONG YUAN AND PING ZHANG YAN ZHANG AND JIUMING KE CHRISTINA (ENYI) ZHAO CHENLIANG ZHONG AND YAMIN XIN QING ZHU AND JINLING YU
CENTENARY CAMPAIGN
Creating a campus that will benefit future generations.
THE NEW BUILDING WILL PROVIDE:
• A new, dedicated home for Maths, Computer Science and Digital Learning
• Classrooms for both desk and interactive learning, bringing subjects to life
• Equipment accommodating AI, VR and AR, as well as powerful computing
To enquire about naming opportunities for various aspects of the project,
please contact Hannah Litvack, Development Director: +44 1635 917732 or email: litvackh@downehouse.net
Maths is our most popular A Level subject and every year we send pupils to top universities to study maths. We have alumnae breaking new ground in AI, gaming, engineering, robotics, quantum computing, in Silicon Valley and beyond, as well as at top financial firms.
Our MATHS AND DIGITAL INNOVATION building will create the much improved learning environment. We are building a space that will inspire the next
generation of female innovators and leaders. And we need the help of our community to achieve this ambitious goal.
The education enjoyed by pupils today has been made possible in large part by the generosity of support provided by the Downe House community. We are immensely grateful to all those who continue to give generously to the funding of key projects in support of the School and its students. Gifts of any size are extremely welcome – every contribution makes a difference.
Growing stronger together
The innovation needed to solve the world’s biggest challenges will come from diverse teams of talented scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians. This is why we must support under-represented groups, including girls, to thrive in these subjects.
DAME EMMA WALMSLEY, PARENT AND CEO GSK
THANKING DONORS
The Trustees of the DH Foundation, the Governors, the Headmistress and all those in the Development team would like to offer their sincere thanks to the 100 donors who contributed £520,000 to our fundraising efforts over the last year – 1st August 2023 to 31st August 2024.
Downe House is grateful for the generosity of all individuals who have contributed to the School throughout the generations since 1907, when the first donation was received from a well-wisher. The Downe House Foundation, our charitable trust, was established in 2014.
Thank you – to all those who have already given, to all those who will continue to give, or who are considering giving for the first time. Your donations are having a positive and immediate impact, and you are changing lives, and Downe House, for the better.
PARENTS OF 2024 LEAVERS
These parents have together raised £41,091 for various areas of Downe House including bursaries and campus developments. Thank you to all those who have supported us and we wish our new alumnae the very best of luck for their future.
WAYS TO GIVE
To make a single or regular donation online by card please visit downehousesociety.net/ pages/make-a-gift
REGULAR GIVING
BACS: Downe House Foundation Sort code 30-95-89
Account no. 46956468
BIC LOYDGB21041
IBAN: GB41LOYD 30958946956468
Rather than making a single gift, many of our donors choose to give on a monthly or annual basis by Standing Order. This is a more convenient arrangement for them and it means a great deal to our School, allowing us to plan for the future on the basis of a regular income. Make a regular donation with our donation form or by card by clicking here.
Make payable to Downe House Foundation and posted to: Development Office Downe House Cold Ash Thatcham Berkshire RG18 9JJ
INTERNATIONAL GIVING AND MORE
For gifts from the United States, please visit the British Schools & Universities Foundation. To give tax effectively from outside of the UK, or for donations of stock, property or matched employer giving, please contact dhsociety@downehouse.net for more details.
UK GIFT AID SHARE GIVING
Did you know that donating shares is one of the most tax-effective ways to give to charity? Giving HMRC qualifying shares to charity means you get Income Tax relief on the value of the shares as well as exemption from Capital Gains Tax. Please contact dhsociety@downehouse.net for more details.
If you are a UK taxpayer, you can increase your donation by 25p for every £1 you donate by ticking the Gift Aid box on your gift form. Downe House will increase the value of your gift by reclaiming tax from HMRC, at no extra cost to you. Gift Aid is extremely valuable to Downe House – please ensure you tick the relevant box on our donation forms if you are a UK taxpayer, or fill out this brief form to make any past and future donations eligible for Gift Aid.
LEAVE A LEGACY
• Did you know that our School has a charitable foundation?
• Did you know that 1 in 10 of our bursaries is funded by a legacy gift?
• Did you know you can leave our school even 1% so that those closest to you inherit 99%? You can of course leave more if you want to.
Charity Name: Downe House Foundation / Registered Charity Number: 1159259. Please contact Hannah Litvack, Development Director Litvackh@downehouse.net / +44 (0)1635 917732 in confidence for more information.
