The first St Bart’s Community Awards evening gave us the opportunity to celebrate the huge contribution so many of our school community make to good causes. It was a fantastic evening, full of laughter, some tears and lots of admiration for students across all year groups, staff and parents who were recognised for their involvement, support and work in the community through a wide range of activities, from fundraising to volunteering.
Their individual efforts and achievements are very much valued and the commitment and enthusiasm from each of them was evident. We were delighted to welcome them with their families and friends and reward them with their certificates and badges.
The event also gave the school the chance to recognise some of our unsung heroes, including the Parents’ Association; volunteers who spend many hours organising social events, maintaining the uniform store and running the bar for school occasions, raising money for the benefit of all our students.
We were delighted to welcome to the event representatives from each of our four House charities; Curnock – Newbury Cancer Care, Davis – Bloodwise, Evers – West Berkshire MENCAP and Patterson – Guide Dogs. The charities thanked the school for thousands of pounds of donations, highlighting how the funds help provide essential support and equipment.
During the evening, some amazing grand totals were announced. In just five years Patterson has sponsored seven guide dogs, the latest being Brennan, who is nearing the end of his puppy training. Over many years Curnock has donated a staggering £90,000 and is one of the Newbury Cancer Care’s biggest and most consistent supporters. Davis has supported Bloodwise for a couple of years and their donations have made a difference by contributing to blood cancer research. West Berkshire MENCAP has been supported by Evers House for around 40 years with an estimated £38,000 donated, as well as many students volunteering with them and helping at their children’s play schemes.
Finally, in this last year alone St Bart’s has raised near £12,800 for House charities and others including Care4Calais, Sport Relief, Children in Need and Save the Children.
We are proud that our school community supports so many worthy causes and thank everyone for their contribution.
