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The CLS Charity Appeal 2007-2008: READ International

 

Tutor in charge: Miss J.E. Jones

Co-Chairmen: Guy Hindley and Dan Pyzer-Knapp

Deputy Chairmen: Ellis Onwordi and Josh Brown

 

This year the School Charity has been collecting for READ International, a relatively new charity that collects used textbooks from British secondary schools and sends them out to Tanzanian schools.  The cost is just 50p per textbook. The charity has been recognised by the Tanzanian High Commissioner as being of great importance to their education system. There is more information on the charity’s website, www.readinternational.org.uk.

 

The year has been filled with a myriad of different events ranging from Krispy Kreme doughnuts to sponsored swims, from Battles of the Bands to Charity Christmas Cards, from Charity Concerts to the City Chef cookbook, from raffles to Mufti days.

 

The school has been filled with enthusiastic fervour surrounding the eating and selling of cakes, chocolates, biscuits and sweets, with the entire First Form having sold at least one batch of sticky stuff, possibly helped by the Tuck Shop only selling granola cereal bars. 2K, self-christened Kandy Kings, have also been very successful at flogging sealed plastic bags filled with sugary somethings.

 

The special events co-ordination team, with Ronan Magee at the helm, has striven to increase the number of ritual humiliations of teachers starting with the Teachers’ Fashion Show, featuring, among others, Mr Farrelly as Amy Winehouse; Miss Eastman, Mr Dawson and Mr Close as Ganstas from de ghetto and Mr Costley-White and Mr Mackrell in the Navy.  Hot on Mr Farrelly’s high heels came City’s Got Talent, a talent show which involved, for the first time pupils competing against teachers, it was perhaps most memorable for Adam Moursy (OG)’s stand up comedy act and Mr Ratnasabapthy’s guitar ‘playing’. This was followed by the Teachers’ ‘Just a Minute’ where Mr Keates proved himself to be supreme at talking for a minute without hesitation, deviation or repetition on topics such as ‘Hursh Mehta’ and ‘The Second Master’ who was hosting the event. At the time of writing we are arranging one of our final few events, CLX Factor, whose name tells you all you really need to know. I must also mention the Second Form’s all-round admirable effort when they raised almost £2,000 in a mega Grand Raffle.

 

Punctuating this year, under sad circumstances, we also had an emergency collection for the people of Burma/Myanmar once the scale of the tragedy became apparent. As always, CLS pupils and staff gave extremely generously.

 

The year drew to a traditional close with the Sponsored Walk, in which the vast majority of the school took part (and raised plenty of money!). This was an eleven mile slog along the banks of the Thames from Hampton Court to Kew. The final event of the school term was the school summer fete on the penultimate afternoon.

 

Another great, and original success, has been the City Chef cookbook, masterminded by Will Sheldon. This cookbook made up of a selection of recipes from parents, pupils and teachers has won plaudits from many including Nigella Lawson herself and is at the time of writing on sale from Waterstone’s bookstores.  

 

At the start of the summer holidays, a group of pupils and staff climbed the three highest in England, Scotland and Wales in the course of just 24 hours and they raised over £13,000 of sponsorship money.

 

So, on behalf of the whole of the charity committee, both co-chairmen would like to thank Miss Jones for her amazing efforts over the year, always ready to step in with help and advice even at the shortest of notice. Her endeavours for the Sponsored Walk, in particular, demonstrated clearly just how lucky we have been for her support and guidance.

 

We would also like to thank the committee members of the J6th who have worked so hard to ensure this year is, once again, a success.  But our biggest debt of thanks is, as always, due to the parents and boys.  Without them we would be nowhere near our projected target. The creative spark for many of our ideas came directly from the boys themselves and the execution would often have been impossible without the help of the parents, for example, in baking a seemingly endless supply of cakes for Junior School cake sales, supplying a huge number of recipes for City Chef and kindly donating prizes towards raffles and other such events.

 

One final thank you must go to the many staff who agreed to dress up and take part in a huge number of different events as well as to all the staff who helped to ensure that the Sponsored Walk was a success.

 

The final total was £58,493 - a City record! This massive achievement is a way in which the City of London School can help those who have fewer resources. Better still, we have recently heard that the money has been doubled by the Government, in an initiative to encourage charitable giving amongst younger people – making the total nearer £120,000. With this fantastic sum, READ will be able to support the growth and development of even more Tanzanian Students. 

 

Dan Pyzer-Knapp, Guy Hindley and Ronan Magee