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Fundraising

SAVE OUR POOL

Welcome to our fundraising page.

First, a heartfelt thank you.

We sincerely thank all our parents & carers, our staff and our friends in the community for generoulsy donating to our school over the years. Without this key financial support, we would not have been able to extend our enrichment provision and improve school facilities to an even higher standard.

In recent years, generous fundraising have provided the school with: a new Sixth Form studying space and social hub called 'Cafe 6'. We have refurbished buildings and grounds to a professional standard, provided equipment for extra-curricular activites and created a wellbeing garden for students and staff to use. We are delighted that we have two new minibuses arriving in Sept and that our Drama & Dance Studio now has a sprung floor thanks to fundraising.

We do need to regularly ask our community to support extra funds for the school throughout the year for many projects that are not funded elsewhere; for example minibus fuel for extra sports competitions, support with Performing Arts and Arts projects. We now turn to our new key fundraising campaign, and we ask our community to once again support us in this endeavour.

Key Fundraising Campaign - Save our Pool

Our pool has recently started to show wear and tear and we are in need of significant funds to pay for:

Pool maintenance - The pump and air conditioning unit
Upgrade the changing rooms
Wear and tear on the pool, surround and building.

Whilst we are busy applying for grants and other fundraising opportunities available to us, we have not yet met the required amounts needed to consistantly book out the pool.

Stage One Fundraising Goal

Currently, the first stage of the pool fundraising campaign is for the maintenance & changing rooms fundraising goal is set at £50,000.

Please note that our pool is always kept to the highest of standards and at no point will we compromise on the quality or teaching environment.

DONATE FOR POOL HERE PLEASE: Community Pool improvements (thegoodexchange.com)

When in working order our community and school swimming pool is used for a variety of uses. These vital lessons and activities include:

Swimming lessons during the school day for the Downs School students
A weekly swim lunch club to help 6th formers manage the stress and anxiety of exams,
After school swimming lessons for the younger children in our community,
Morning and afterschool swim sessions for staff to manage their well being
Swimming lessons for SEN children with 1:1 or 1:2 staff
Holiday camps for local children throughout the year
Local primary school introductory lessons

A note from our Governing Board regarding voluntary donations

'We remain confident that the school’s finances are being managed efficiently and effectively and that the school continues to achieve excellent results academically – but the restrictions on Government funding mean that further enhancements to the school environment will be challenging without additional support. We are therefore requesting voluntary contributions from parents and carers to help fund a variety of ongoing initiatives.

Please read the full letter dated February 2023 here