Building the Future at Wimbledon High School

BUILDING THE

FUTURE AT W I M B L E D O N H I G H S C H O O L

PROJECT EX HUMILIBUS PHASE 2

From small things, greatness...

Wimbledon High School has always been a progressive – even trailblazing – school, encouraging innovation in its students and teachers, and engaging with the real-world issues that matter.

Our new buildings won’t change this: rather, they will allow us to unleash our magnificent potential, providing inspiring spaces for our own students which nurture their creativity, curiosity and sense of wonder, whilst also allowing us to welcome in more children and families from across our community.

Through your support for Project Ex Humilibus, we will continue further to enrich the lives of others, and in turn be truly enriched ourselves. Which of course is what education in its truest sense is all about.

F I O N N U A L A K E N N E DY HEAD

C

B

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A

OUR PLANS By 2022, we will have completed the final phase of the build providing the following new spaces:

D

A.

STEAM Tower

Opened in September 2020, our new STEAM Tower allows interconnected, interdisciplinary learning to bring together different subjects of the curriculum.

B.

Auditorium

That will double up as a performance and event space for the school and the wider community - a welcoming space to inspire and be inspired.

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E C.

Playground in the Sky A new, beautifully enclosed and secure, ‘Playground in the Sky’ for Junior girls.

D.

Sixth Form Courtyard

A quiet outdoor space to reflect and take time out during the busy school day.

PLUS

E.

Sixth Form Centre

Offering an independent and inspiring study space for girls making their way into young adult life, with a community hub at its heart, led by students to support local organisations.

A new and fit-for-purpose Neurodiversity space. ~ A new modern foreign languages (MFL) suite (adapted from our current Art studios). ~ An imaginative re-think and beautiful refurbishment of the remaining teaching spaces.

W H AT W E H AV E

ACHIEVED S O FA R

When we launched our transformational building programme - Project Ex Humilibus - it was the current layout of our estate, the pressure on communal spaces and the condition of some of our key buildings that drove the need for investment and change.

Now in 2021, much has been achieved. We have a new dining hall where as a community we can come together after so much time apart. Our new STEAM Tower is already having a huge impact on the way we learn and the development of our STEAM+ agenda. We know that problem solving, resilience, creativity, adaptability and design thinking are going to be highly valued skills for the workforce of the future and these are exactly what our STEAM approach to learning is enabling our girls to develop.

Whilst the build kept to schedule and the need for continued investment in the site has remained key, we had until now paused our fundraising in response to the global pandemic and the impact it has had on our community.

The potential for our new buildings to enable more meaningful partnership activities was already very much evident. However, events over the last year have caused us to reflect on our strategic priorities and how we can support our local community with greater ambition for our partnership and bursary programmes. We hope this resonates with you and feels like the right approach going forward.

LO O K I N G TO 2 0 2 2 A N D

BEYOND

Wimbledon High is a place where girls learn to use their voices, hold their space and be comfortable in their skin; where they take themselves seriously, whilst holding themselves lightly.

Where we all, as a school community, understand how to be fiercely clever whilst having serious fun.

Never has the need for bright, grounded, confident and compassionate women striding out into society and shaping the world around them been more necessary.

But crucially we have a role in ensuring this is the case for not only our girls but for the many children in Merton who may not have the same opportunities.

Project Ex Humilibus will allow us to unleash the potential of these new spaces for the benefit of our girls, of our partner schools and of our wider community.

AN EMPHASIS ON BELONGING, ON THE POWER OF COMMUNITIES AND THE IMPORTANCE OF GIVING BACK, WILL ALL INFORM OUR APPROACH AS WE LOOK TO 2022 AND BEYOND.

“We will continue to fight for a world that opens education to all, that values the rights of the individual, and champions the just cause of those who do not have a voice.”

Fionnuala Kennedy, Head

SUPPORTING OUR

WIDER COMMUNIT Y

In the Borough of Merton, 19% of children live in poverty with stark inequalities in the borough between deprived wards in the east (Mitcham) and the more affluent wards in the west (Wimbledon).

In our role as educators, we have a responsibility to teach our girls about the society they are living in and equip them with the skills to make a difference.

As we move into the final phase of our build, it is clear the new spaces we are developing will help us progress our partnership activity more quickly and with greater ambition.

“It is an absolute joy building such strong partnerships with local primary and secondary schools.

Watching the relationships flourish between the students and seeing the confidence and understanding of each other develop is so inspiring.

It really feels like we are moving forward as a community together.”

Director of Partnerships Jenny Cox

CORE Once the new spaces are complete in September 2022, we want to launch a new look partnership programme known as CORE, innovative and bold in its reach and impact.

CORE, will represent both a programme that will be at the “core” of the life of the school but also links with our symbol, the apple.

We would envisage this encompassing all our partnership and philanthropy programmes in the following way:

C O R E

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We plan to create a community hub based in our new Sixth Form Centre which sits at the very heart of both our locality and also our strategy over the coming years – one which will enable our girls to truly connect with their wider community whilst allowing us to provide our expertise and support to those around us in a meaningful way.

In our new auditorium, we will run a creative arts project for Year 6 children with local primary school partners using our expertise and facilities to ensure creativity through the arts is possible for all.

H OW C A N YO U

HELP Through the generous support of the GDST and our school community of parents, alumnae, staff and governors, we have secured £20.5M in investment and donations for Project Ex Humilibus.

Our target is therefore to raise the final £500,000 by July 2022 to ensure the building work is finished on time and the new spaces are ready for use in September 2022.

We will only reach our fundraising target with the support of the whole school community.

GIFT AID ADDS 25% TO YOUR DONATION

EVERY GIFT NO MATTER WHAT SIZE MAKES A DIFFERENCE

DONATE £2000 Donate a one off gift of £1650 + Gift Aid Donate £165 per month for ten months + Gift Aid

DONATE £ 1000 Donate a one-off gift of £800 + Gift Aid Donate £80 per month for ten months + Gift Aid

If every family in the school were able to donate £1,000 we would

reach our target.

WIMBLEDON HIGH SCHOOL

PA R E N T D O N O R R E CO G N I T I O N All donations over £1,000 will be included in our beautiful apple tree donor wall which will be displayed in the new auditorium.

A call to action donor spread, that includes the donor tree image from Tracey’s original version

development@wim.gdst.net W E B S I T E www.exhumilibus.co.uk

F O R M O R E I N F O R M AT I O N , E M A I L O R V I S I T T H E C A M PA I G N

PROJECT EX HUMILIBUS B U ILDING TH E FUTU R E

www.exhumilibus.co.uk