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| 30 Apr 2024 | |
| Written by Darren Ellis | |
| Fundraising News |
Dear Supporter,
As the Founding Chair of the Charter Awards Campaign Group, I would like to thank you for your support of this important campaign for King’s, in which our mission is to raise money to permanently fund 50 full bursary places. The Awards reinforce the inclusive and aspirational nature of King’s, where success is a product of ability, belief, hard work and determination, and reaches out to all, whatever their social or economic background.
Thank you to all of you who have already generously supported the Charter Awards and I hope that many more will do so, in whatever way you wish. Thanks also to the eight volunteers who have very kindly agreed to join me on the Charter Awards Campaign Group and are helping to drive the campaign forward.
I, like many of you, am deeply proud of King's, and acknowledge the very special contribution King's played to my school years. I hope we can offer this opportunity to others who might not have had the chances we did, and in doing so, benefit not just those children, but build a stronger King’s community.
Baroness Kate Fall MBE (WL 1983–85)
Founding Chair, Charter Awards Campaign Group
Impact Report: Spring 2024
Jenny Grant, Director of Development and Alumni, shares what your support has achieved to date and more about the exciting plans for the campaign going forward.
Since the Charter Awards came ‘quietly’ into being in September 2022, there has been a period of significant momentum in the giving and engagement of the King’s Community. Our aim is to bring all our audiences together - whether OKS, current or past parents, pupils and friends - to generate funds for these transformational Awards and to raise awareness about why they matter.
The response so far has been overwhelming, and we remain extremely grateful to you all for your contribution. Thanks to your generosity, our first Charter Awardee has already joined the school and is thriving in this new environment. Furthermore, bolstered by substantial donations following the official Launch at the Mansion House in October 2023, we have already raised the Endowment sufficiently to welcome another three recipients this coming September. These three new pupils will be joining us in Shell, marking our first 5-year commitments.
The fact that your demonstrative support has come during a challenging time for King’s, and for the Independent Schools sector in general, means that it is even more extraordinary. It is truly a testament to the power of our community and gives us confidence in this endeavour as we strive forward.
There is a huge amount of activity planned for the next few years, to build on this powerful start. This includes our first Telethon in over a decade; the relaunch of the King’s Ball; and plans for our first ever King’s Giving Day. Throughout, there will be ample opportunity to get involved, so if you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
Thank you again for your contribution. Your support is truly changing lives and building the resilience of this special school.
Jenny Grant, Director of Development and Alumni
j.grant@kings-school.co.uk
Hear from our previous bursary recipients how support, such as yours, has changed their lives
Watch our Charter Awards launch film below and follow the stories of Annabel, Jacob and Sasha.
Working in Partnership: Finding and Supporting Bursary Pupils
The success of the Charter Awards Campaign relies not just on donations. It is also critical that we can identify young people who would thrive at King’s, and that we are able to support them appropriately once they are here. So how do we identify our potential Charter Award recipients, and what are the potential avenues we have for growing numbers from 1 to 4, to 50?
Charter Awards bursaries are offered to those talented and motivated young people who would most benefit from an education here but for whom King’s is currently wholly out of reach. This could be due to financial barriers, family circumstances or other challenges beyond their control. It has always been our intention that the Awards should support a mix of boarding and day recipients and that we would welcome a proportion from our local East Kent community.
As we begin our journey, we have partnered with the Royal National Childrens Springboard Foundation (RNCSF) – experts in widening access to the opportunities available in independent schools for young people facing the greatest barriers to their development. To date, the Foundation has partnered with 170 schools and identified and supported 1073 pupils into secured bursary places across the country. This includes 66 children in care; 382 children who are classified as vulnerable, given social care intervention; and 625 children identified through their partnerships in social mobility ‘cold spot’ areas.
As we look to grow our numbers, we also plan to utilise our existing networks and areas of expertise. Local networks, such as our East Kent Schools Together, or our outreach programmes, like Sounding Out and Saturday Smarties could be crucial. For so many of these young people, a King’s education and bursary programme is unlikely to be on their radar; these partnerships make it possible.
Likewise, our existing scholarship networks, especially in music and sport, will offer another avenue to identify those young people who show unique talent and promise, but who could never come to King’s without full financial support.
We recognise that, for our Charter Award recipients, the transition to King’s can be huge. We work closely with our partners, and the young people and their families, to assess their suitability, ambitions and needs to make sure King’s is the best fit for them. King’s already has an exceptional system of pastoral care in place for all our pupils. However, we know that young people on full bursaries often require additional help and support. That’s why we offer wraparound practical and emotional support, mentoring and peer groups with other King’s bursary recipients and Springboarders. Led by our Head of Boarding, this is not only during their time at King’s, but also before they join us and long after they have left.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with the King’s School Canterbury to ensure that many more children facing challenging circumstances can access the life-transformative opportunities that an education at King’s provides.”
Ali Henderson, CEO, RNCSF
The Charter Awards Campaign Group: Introducing our Members
Together, the Charter Awards Campaign Group brings many decades of expertise in financial governance, business, philanthropy and nurturing strong community relationships, whilst all are personally connected to the School as alumni or through their children (and in some cases, both). This highly experienced group is made up of the following members, to whom we are very grateful:
We would also like to thank Patricia Groom (wife of OKS (LN 1964-68) and past King’s parent (2004 - 2009) for her help on the Group over the past six months.
The Campaign Board term is two years. If joining the Board would be of interest to you, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Jenny to find out more.
Upcoming events
King’s was delighted to launch our new bursary campaign on Tuesday 10th October at the Mansion House in London, hosted by The Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress, Alderman Nicholas and Mrs Felicity Lyons (both past OKS Presidents and Junior and Senior King’s parents). On the evening, we were joined by almost 180 friends of the school, and it was wonderful to see so many of you there.
Upcoming events include:
