During this academic year, our school community once again came together on a number of occasions to help support different charitable causes and projects. As a community, we continued to raise money at our annual events but there were also a number of new initiatives and charities that we supported. The commitment and efforts shown by the children in both the Pre-Prep and Prep School was superb, and we are very proud of their efforts. We hope that their involvement will help them to foster a lifelong understanding of the importance of helping those who need it. 

In the Autumn Term, we held our annual Macmillan Cancer Support Coffee Morning and through the generous contributions from parents, we managed to raise £398. This was soon followed by a new event run by a group of enthusiastic parents in support of the Brilliant Breakfast, Women Supporting Women for The Prince’s Trust. In their first year, they raised an astonishing £902 for this worthy cause.  

In October, we continued our support of local charity, Stroud Foodbank, providing food for people in crisis, and through our Harvest Festival Service we collected 351kg of food. Also in October, with the help of our former Head of Science, Jenny Butterworth, we once again supported the charity Homestart. Over Half Term, children and their families collected over 50 pencil cases filled with stationery, which they donated to support disadvantaged children in the area.  

It was also at this time that Eleanora in Year 6 took part in the prestigious Shetland Pony Race at Olympia International Horse Show in support of the Bob Champion Cancer Trust. She raised £2,903, which was fantastic achievement. 

In November, with our Remembrance Day service, we continued to support the British Legion. Later in the month, in support of Children in Need, we had a ‘Wear your House Colours’ day which raised £488.  

Other initiatives involved the Art Department, who donated over £200 worth of oil paints for the local Gloucestershire charity ‘Art Shape’. They run art courses and projects with a specific focus on disability issues and social inclusion. In support of SOS Kit Aid, Jackie Abendanon organised a large donation of Old Beaudesertian sports kit, who, with the support of World Rugby, distributes second-hand and new rugby kits to disadvantaged youngsters all over the world.  

Through our annual Christmas Jumper Day, in December, we ran a jumper swap scheme, which raised £154 for the charity ‘Final Straw’. They work with businesses and communities to improve ocean health. Our annual Santa Fun Run was another great success, and through the support of so many families, we raised £371 for the care hospice Horsfall House. Finally in the last week of term, children in Year 4 supported the festive initiative by Gloucestershire Bundles by collecting numerous boxes of toys and gifts. This charity does some amazing work in providing emergency packs of toiletries, clothing and equipment to pregnant women and families in Gloucestershire.  

In the Spring Term, we once again held a ‘Dress to Impress’ whole school non-uniform day, in support of the mental health charity Places2be. A group of Year 7 girls also hosted a cake sale where they raised £200. The money they collected went to Kids on Track, a charity that provides activity camps for children in the school holidays.   

Through the amazing work of some of our parents, during the first half of term we also saw a great community effort in support of the refugees who had left Ukraine due to the ongoing conflict. Boxes of essential items were sent to Poland on minibuses. The response by so many of our families was amazing. 

In May, we saw the biggest charity event of the year with 121 children taking part in a Triathlon organised by the charity Restless Development, and hosted by Clifton College. The event was a huge success and from the efforts of all our families involved, the Beaudesert community managed to raise an astonishing £16,004. As part of this initiative, each school was able to send a proportion of the money raised to an additional charity of their choice. We gave £2,000 to the charity The Pied Piper Appeal. In its 30th year, it is the leading children’s charity in Gloucestershire. Their mission is to make a difference to the lives of sick and disabled children in the county, including funding the children’s centre at Gloucestershire Royal Infirmary. We also donated £2,092 to the charity Capital Kids Cricket. They are a youth development charity using cricket as a tool to improve the lives of London’s most disadvantaged children and young people. They hosted a ‘Bowl Out Racism’ House event for children in Years 3 to 8, raising the profile of the need to eradicate racism and discrimination in cricket, and in society.  

It has been an amazing year. Thank you to all the children, parents and staff for their incredible support.