Arnold House Fundraising Update 2014

FUNDRAISINGNEWS 2014

THE IMPORTANCE OF THE BURSARY SCHEME Bursaries have a life-changing impact on those boys who are selected for the programme. They offer access to an Arnold House education including a wide variety of extracurricular activities, sport, drama, music, art and IT facilities all in a nurturing and encouraging environment. Not only does the bursary pupil benefit from this but the School and its community also see tangible benefits of the scheme as illustrated by the following contributions:

A beneficiary’s parent When my son arrived at Arnold House in Year 5 a door opened on to a world of opportunities. He knew that he was fortunate and hugely privileged.

He was keen to embrace all that was made available to him. We were warmly

welcomed and soon felt part of the Arnold House community.

Now at senior school, he is doing particularly well in French, Latin, Classical Greek and German. It was Arnold House that gave him the chance to learn Latin and Greek and to begin

learning French. He was happy and grew in confidence and looked forward to speaking French on school trips to France. Facilities for art, science and sport amazed him as these had been really limited at his previous school.

At Arnold House, he discovered a flair for sport, especially hockey and cricket. The cricket tour to Jersey also happened to provide him with his first flight. Progress in instrumental lessons and singing in Chapel Choir even enabled him to advance his musical activities outside of school.

As a family, we supported him in working hard. We are extremely grateful to Arnold House for providing him with opportunities that have the potential to change his life.

Past parent

clear statement that it is looking beyond the school gates and is really making a difference.

Patrick Derham, Head Master of Westminster School

The Board of Friends Having been fortunate enough to enjoy an Arnold House education myself, as well as being lucky enough to have seen my two sons at Arnold House; I consider it both a pleasure and an honour to be associated with fundraising for bursaries at the School.

A beneficiary from the past I went to college on a bursary. It was called a scholarship because it was based on academic-merit but it was, ultimately, financial support to attend a college far outside my family’s financial reach.

There were obvious gains from what I attained: an opening of my mind from being among bright, ambitious peers as well as fantastic teachers and from having unparalleled resources at my disposal. My CV gained a shining spot that opened many doors for further studies and later, my career. There is absolutely no doubt that the high quality education I received was game changing for my life and that it was made possible only because of external financial help.

But the bursary did something else for me too. Something more internal and far-reaching. By putting me in a place I knew was extraordinarily special, for someone of my means, it taught me to believe in myself over and above anything else. With the financial issue set aside, merit and diligence came to the fore. It became clear to me that armed with these, I wasn’t that different from others around me and was just as likely to do as well as them. Had I not received a bursary I would have been the same bright, driven young person but one who would have rated

financial privilege far more highly and perhaps, been more cowed by it. The bursary taught me that, in fact, financial means are necessary but not sufficient in achieving one’s goals and that determination, perseverance and hard work go a much, much longer way.

Current parent

An AH Governor For a bursary programme to be truly effective there is a need for a genuine desire to transform lives to be at the very heart of the school community.

This is certainly the case at Arnold House. Here is a school which offers life-transforming opportunities for deserving children by widening educational and social opportunities knowing that its benefits will be felt throughout the entire community.

Above all Arnold House is a school which understands that it is a longterm pastoral engagement with young people that is the key to unlocking aspirations and to raising standards.

By its commitment to its bursary programme Arnold House is making a

Not only has this experience brought me closer to the School in terms of getting to know parents (some of whom have become Bursary Ambassadors and are doing excellent work in spreading the ‘Bursary word’) but it has also given me the opportunity to see for myself the effect of our fundraising directly, and how positively it impacts on the lives of the boys themselves and their families.

It has been a privilege to watch the School’s first Bursary boys go from shy and ‘not quite sure of themselves’ young boys to fine, confident, young men who will undoubtedly go on to shine in their senior schools and beyond, making both Arnold House and their families proud too.

It is thanks to all those who have given, not just financially which is of course very important, but also through their generosity of time and spirit, that we can nurture and grow the bursary scheme and offer to widen educational opportunities for more boys.

Anastassis Fafalios, Chairman of the Board of Friends

A Donor The eight years that our son spent at Arnold House were incredibly formative years in which he was lucky enough not only to receive a great education but also to experience a wealth of extracurricular activities and educational trips. His transformation from the shy boy who arrived in Year 1, barely able to read Floppy and Kipper books, to the confident, mature and academically successful young man he became in Year 8 was heart-warming to see. He has made incredible friends at AH with whom I know he will stay in contact, he has fantastic memories of his time at his prep school and we as parents also made great friends.

As the ‘momentous’ point of his departure from AH approached, we felt that the opportunities and experiences that he had been lucky enough to have couldn’t be taken for granted. Every child should be entitled to the same high standard of education, but the sad reality of today is that this is not the case. With this in mind, it felt absolutely right for us to donate a bursary so that we could help another child to have the same positive and happy school experience. Donating a bursary was also our way of acknowledging and saying thank you to all the staff for everything that they do for the boys.

A Bursary Ambassador As a member of the Bursary Ambassadors, it is clear that I have a strong commitment to and interest in the Arnold House bursary scheme.

My commitment derives from my experience of attending schools and universities with strong bursary programmes, and from my position as a parent of Arnold House boys.

As a student of schools with bursary programmes, I was able to understand that my educational experience was greatly enriched by the presence of other students who, as it happened (though I didn’t know or think about it at the time) were there by virtue of financial assistance. Along with all the individual benefits those students brought to the scene, their presence was a quiet but consistent reminder that we were all lucky to be educated at an excellent fee-paying school, and that our education should not be taken for granted.

The point became that much clearer at university, where over half the students at the university I attended were receiving some form of assistance. I can only imagine how the absence of bursary funds would have limited and diminished that world. To an extent, the same argument can be made for

prep and senior schools.

As a parent of two Arnold House boys, these are lessons which I feel Arnold House boys should have the opportunity to benefit from. I want them to absorb the ethos of inclusiveness that a Bursary Scheme provides; and understand that all Arnold House boys are lucky to be enjoying the top-notch education it provides.

Juliet Sampson, Chair of the Bursary Ambassadors

An Old Boy Having attended Arnold House and now having a son at the School, I feel extremely passionate about the Bursary Scheme. A significant proportion of children attending the school are from incredibly privileged backgrounds and thus it is vital that children who aren’t so fortunate are given the opportunity to attend our wonderful school. Diversity is what our environment should be all about and the Bursary Scheme moves us a step closer to this whilst simultaneously providing a great start in life to some wonderful boys.

Daniel Austin

The Headmaster

A Teacher Much is written in the press about the benefits of an independent education.

Small class sizes, personal attention and increased confidence all being cited as the reasons parents choose private education for their children.

The reputation of the system is such that many people send their children to England to be educated, and many prestigious schools have opened branches abroad.

In August this year, the Commission for Social Mobility and Child Poverty recognized the system as “adept at providing pathways to successful and prominent careers”. However, a hefty price tag is attached, meaning that many promising young people might be held back from reaching their full potential.

Two distinguished recipients of the then, equivalent of a bursary, are Lord Adonis and Michael Gove, both having gone on to contribute to education in some way. Now that the government no longer extends this largesse, independent schools have, with the carrot of retaining their charity status, stepped in to fill the void, bursaries being awarded to a lucky few each year. Whilst it is easy to imagine the benefits for those in receipt of a bursary, what are the benefits for the school?

We can all get complacent about the day to day advantages that surround us here at AH; small class sizes, great relationships with both the boys and their parents, lots of sports, outings and visits, a parent fund that enables you to buy many items to enhance teaching.

The arrival of the bursary boys allows us to see afresh all of these benefits.

On being given a science book to

take home to keep, unbeknownst to me, one of our new bursary boys then proceeded to read the entire book.

When I suggested that he might not know the answer to a question during the following lesson, the class having studied the topic before his arrival, he answered perfectly, surprising me, and putting the others on their metal; it goes without saying that this encouraged them all to pull out a few stops before the next test! It is not easy to get a bursary, and these boys have shown promise or achieved something of note, followed by a rigorous selection process. Of course they are not going to sit on their laurels once they get here. They are going to continue to shine, and in doing so they inject an air of convivial competitiveness, encouraging us all to step out of our comfort zone and push ourselves a little more. Additionally, as if not enough of a bonus, these situations also serve to showcase the good manners and generosity of spirit continually exhibited

by AH boys. This is something that will distinguish our boys forever, and will say far more about them than any academic achievement ever could.

Jenny Lyons, Head of Science

The development of the Arnold House Bursary Scheme over the past five years has, for me, been a richly rewarding experience. It has been the right thing for a prep school to do to try to emulate the great Public Schools, such as City of London, Eton, Harrow, Rugby and St. Paul’s, by offering bursary places to boys of potential and good character, albeit at a younger age.

In truth it is something the prep schools should have begun many years ago but at least the idea has now taken hold and a clear direction of travel has been set for the future. I am extremely proud of everyone’s efforts here at Arnold House in helping to establish such firm foundations for our own Bursary Scheme. Long may the Arnold House community continue to work together towards such a worthy educational cause.

Viv Thomas

ARNOLD HOUSE ONLINE AUCTION SITE IS LAUNCHED Following the success of the silent auction during the Bursary Cabaret fundraising event earlier this year it was decided that the School and its

community, including current and past parents and old boys, could benefit from an ongoing auction site especially for the sale of unwanted tickets to sporting events, theatre shows and exhibitions.

The money raised from these sales will be donated to the Arnold House Bursary Fund.

We are grateful for any items that you may

ARNOLD HOUSE CASINO NIGHT The Board of Friends and Bursary Ambassadors are pleased to announce the date of our annual fundraising event in aid of the Bursary Fund.

On Thursday 12th March the American School will transform into the ‘Casino de Monte-Carlo’ as it plays host to the Arnold House Casino Night.

Tickets and more information about the evening will be available in January.

be able to donate to the auction at any time during the school year. This can either be a straight donation to the School or can sold with the face value being returned to the donor and any profit going to the Bursary Fund.

Items such as premiership football tickets have always been very popular at our auctions and season passes can be given to winners and returned to donors through the Development Office. In addition, the School will be auctioning reserved front row seats to a variety of Arnold House concerts and plays.

The auction website can be accessed through the front page of the School’s website or intranet and will be updated on an ongoing basis.

THE ANNUAL FUND The Annual Fund continues to be a popular and successful fundraising initiative at Arnold House and 2014 has been no exception. This year, parents have funded the purchase of a number of exciting items for the science lab including a model of a life size human skeleton, a tooth set and a model of a giant heart. The Parents’ Association’s generous donation at the end of the summer term means that a new set of cricket covers will be installed at Canons Park next spring. There has been much excitement in the IT department with the introduction of a number of Lego Mindstorms which are being used by boys to build and program real-life robotic solutions while the appeal for a new Steinway K piano continues.

The School is most grateful to those parents and old boys who have supported these projects which directly enhance our facilities for teaching and learning.

THE BURSARY FUND ACCOUNT The Development Office is delighted to announce that a separate bank account has now been opened for the Bursary Fund. Following feedback from donors, it was agreed that a completely separate account entity was required in order to provide reassurance that any donations were being ring-fenced according to our donors’ wishes. Future donations to the Bursary Fund by cheque need to be payable to ‘The Arnold House School Bursary Fund’ and separate account details can also be provided for BACs transfers.

CHARITY During the past year, boys, staff and parents have raised an impressive £16,324 for charities including Breast Cancer Care, ActionAid and the St John’s Hospice.

Following the boys’ Year 6 Compass Course charity presentations at the end of the summer term, the School voted to support The EDGE arm of ZSL. The EDGE of Existence programme aims to highlight and conserve one-of–a-kind species that are on the verge of extinction.

It seemed fitting that the first charity day of this academic year took on an Animal Theme which proved to be a real success with £2,300 being raised for the cause.

HOW TO DONATE Donations can be made by cheque or bank transfer directly to the Arnold House School Bursary Fund account or

by Charity Voucher.

Please contact Stephanie Miller for more information (smiller@arnoldhouse.co.uk or 020 7266 6989).

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Arnold House School 1 Loudoun Road St. John’s Wood, London NW8 0LH Telephone: 020 7266 4840 Email: office@arnoldhouse.co.uk Website: www.arnoldhouse.co.uk Arnold House School Ltd (Limited by Guarantee). Registered in London Number 889424. Educational Charitable Trust Number 312725