From a young age, children are taught about the importance of giving back. Many schools have begun to incorporate more aspects of giving back within school culture. The significance of community projects in education cannot be underestimated: it provides children with values that create an inclusive and supportive community for all.
At Whitgift School community partnerships are integral to the school’s foundation, being a showcase to other educational institutions of what is possible. For example, the Primary School Project - run by Whitgift - has supported 25,000 local boys and girls over its 21-year history.
Whitgift School is an independent boys’ school situated in Haling Park, South Croydon. Founded by John Whitgift (Archbishop of Canterbury from 1583 to 1604), the school’s foundation stone was laid at North End in March 1596. The school – which was originally created by John Whitgift to provide access to education for people in Croydon – continues to pride itself on giving back to the local community, which is at the heart of the founding principles of the school. The school hopes to achieve four main aims from community partnerships. Firstly, these projects are run to increase access to the high-tech facilities on-site to disadvantaged pupils in the local community. Secondly, the school aims to support other local schools to increase academic achievement. Thirdly, the projects are run to instill a passion for learning within students and build curiosity and aspiration academically. Finally, the community partnerships provide Whitgiftians with an opportunity to interact and learn from the local community. The Director of Partnerships and Community at Whitgift, Mr. Andy Marlow, says that community partnerships are “mutually beneficial,” as not only do Whitgift support the community, but these projects also assist Whitgiftians to develop “communication, leadership, and responsibility skills.”
The Primary Project is a local partnership with around 30 primary schools. Each week, 30 children visit the Whitgift site, cumulating to around 1000 pupils a year. The key focus of the project is developing computing skills, particularly “developing coding, the use of robotics, BBC Micro:bit, and scratch.” One of the reasons for a focus on computing is that the resources available in primary schools are varied. A teacher from one primary school invited to the project remarked, “it was beneficial to use resources which are not available at our school”. Pupils are also given the opportunity to access a range of lessons, including Chinese and Japanese – which many students “would never have had any exposure to,” according to Mr. Marlow. Furthermore, the project allows students to learn science, music, and sports. Pupils are also invited to attend special performances and concerts, such as the Michaelmas Collection Concert that Whitgift run annually at Fairfield Halls. One of the schools invited to the concert commented, “most of our children have never heard a live performance such as the one we heard today.”
In addition to the Primary Project, Whitgift Sixth Form students regularly volunteer at local primary schools, helping to run lessons, clubs, and sports activities. This supports local schools and provides children with a broader education. Moreover, Whitgiftians that take part act as role models for primary school children – showing children how to excel in multiple aspects of education. This scheme reflects the mutually beneficial nature of Whitgift’s community projects, as they also provide the Whitgift students with an opportunity to enhance their values and character. An integral part of the school’s vision for 2025 is to educate students to “give back to the society in which they will be leaders” (Whitgift 2025: Our Vision). One of the purposes of these projects is to benefit the entire Croydon community, avoiding a “one-way traffic of support,” Mr. Marlow noted. The school’s Charities Committee – run primarily by students – nominate three charities each year. Historically, one local, one national, and one global charity have been nominated every year. To raise money for these charities, there are large, annual events such as the Charity Concert in the Michaelmas Term, where ticket and refreshment sales go towards the charity. Alongside these large events, smaller events such as bake sales and competitions occur throughout the academic year. On World Mental Health Day, Whitgift ran a series of events to support one of the nominated charities: Young Minds. Mr. Marlow believes that the student-led aspect of community projects is key, as “students have responsibility and access to take leadership positions.”
Whitgift Masterclasses is a programme run on Saturday mornings, where academically bright students from local schools, who do not have access to as much opportunity as available at Whitgift, receive lessons on-site. One parent whose son took part in a Masterclass said, “it helped him to gain confidence in English and confirm his love of Maths and Science.” Another parent commented, “my son enjoyed his time at Whitgift, he was really happy that he got to try new things, like the amazing science experiments.” These masterclasses are run by teachers and Whitgift students. This furthers the idea of students leading Whitgift’s community partnerships. A Sixth Form volunteer for the masterclasses believed he improved his “ability to explain, articulate, and teach subject matter”, something he has “struggled” to do in the past. During the pandemic, Whitgift has started a Community Summer School for local children, which is now an annual project. One of the initial reasons for doing so was because the International Summer School was not running due to coronavirus restrictions. However, the school had also realised there was “an attainment gap between those who had access to education and those who did not during lockdowns,” according to Mr. Marlow. This meant that 200 primary pupils experienced a week of lessons and a different co-curricular activity every day, for the past two summers. A parent whose daughter attended the summer school mentioned, “she had an amazing week, it sparked excitement and curiosity at learning new things.”
Whitgift, an institution founded to look outwards as well as inwards, has significant responsibility to “improve the educational outcomes of those in Whitgift, as well as those outside of Whitgift” – Mr. Marlow says. In the future, the aim is to provide every Whitgiftian with the opportunity to participate and volunteer in community partnerships. Our community should be one where we all support each other. The values we instill in children is essential to achieving this common goal, further symbolising the significance of places of education integrating community at the heart of their mission to educate children. Whitgift’s approach to community partnerships should be an exemplar to society of the endless opportunities we all have to support each other.
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