Lower School pupils at St Mary’s Calne are expected to have raised more than £1,000 for charity after putting the skills they have developed throughout the year into practice as part of the Wings of Hope Achievement Awards.
The initiative saw pupils work in teams to plan, organise and deliver their own fundraising projects, supporting the children’s charity Wings of Hope, which funds schools in India and Sierra Leone while encouraging young people in the UK to develop leadership, empathy and entrepreneurial skills.
Throughout the term, pupils worked in groups of around six, choosing projects based on themes including innovation, events and arts and crafts. They received online training from Wings of Hope representatives, mentoring from staff and kept a record of their progress before presenting their work to earn their achievement awards.
The fundraising activities showcased a wide range of creativity and business skills.
One group wrote and performed an original Alice in Wonderland-inspired theatre production in the Delscey Burns Theatre, while another organised a popular pre-theatre ice cream stall, managing everything from food hygiene and allergy awareness to card payments and customer service.
Other teams produced bottled cookie mixes that sold out within 24 hours, created handmade crafts and personalised notebooks, organised a whole-school water fight, ran a pre-loved clothing sale, hosted a scavenger hunt, designed and sold branded tracksuits, and led tote bag decorating workshops for pupils from both schools.
Mr Dan Curran, Head of Future Fridays at St Mary’s Calne, said, “This wonderful programme has allowed the girls to knit together the skills they have learned during the Future Fridays initiative throughout the year, such as teamwork, finance, confidence and entrepreneurship.”
He added, “Overall, the initiative was a huge success and when the final donations are counted the girls are likely to have raised over £1,000 for their chosen charity. I would like to thank all of the girls, parents and staff who have worked so hard to make this so successful.”
The Wings of Hope Achievement Awards are designed to help young people build confidence, teamwork and leadership skills while making a positive difference to communities around the world.
