Thank you for your commitment to the school’s fundraising initiatives. With the changes to VAT and business rates relief, Emanuel’s ambitions to provide funded places to bright young people, regardless of ability to pay, and achieve the vital next phase of our critical build plan, has never been more important.
These changes, for all schools, will present challenges and whilst we can take some mitigating steps to manage the known risks to us and all that we have achieved, there will undoubtedly be unknown risks that we cannot foresee or changes to the sector which are not possible to accurately predict. We are determined in the context of this to keep achieving social mobility through education and to give our pupils and the thousands who use our facilities in the local community, the necessary spaces and equipment to be inspired.
On a personal note, I doubt if another school in London has altered as much as our school over the last two decades: the day-to-day experience, the outcomes, the opportunities in all areas and the quality of learning has all risen. Our reputation is strong and we wish to maintain this momentum, holding tight to our aims and ethos.
At the heart of this is the fully funded places campaign, which has been highly successful and changed the lives of numerous young people, and our critical build programme. The next step, our desperately needed refectory and science labs, will start in 2025, with funding and planning now secured.
However, in simple terms, the more that donors can support either of these plans, and most especially the building programme which will positively impact every single Emanuel boy or girl and all teachers, plus local children, the better. Such support will reduce our loan and ease the servicing of it, which allows us to mitigate some of the risks I have explained above and direct funds into key educational areas.
When we first launched the Giant Strides campaign, I said that this new building was the key to unlocking the site’s full potential- this statement remains true. It will allow us to reorganise the whole site, providing faculty areas and giving everyone the space to work, play and teach in the most productive and happiest manner.
Thank you for your incredible support!
Robert Milne Headmaster
Giant Strides update
2024 marks Emanuel’s 430th anniversary which we celebrated with a concert at St John Smith’s Square. In 1594, Lady Anne Dacre established the school with a bequest in her will for the education of twenty children. Today, Emanuel continues to benefit from the generosity and foresight of donors whose support provides pupils with excellent facilities and a transformative education rooted in academic and cocurricular excellence.
A mark of recent success is that we were finalists in the London School of the Year award, a competition run by the ‘Independent Schools of the Year’ organisation.
Launched in November 2022, Giant Strides aims to create inspiring spaces for teaching and learning, further our awardwinning outreach activities and create more funded places for talented pupils who would otherwise not have the means to attend Emanuel.
Until recently, bursaries have been our main priority. In the last academic year, 25% of donations were in support of buildings or our greatest needs fund.
Major gift funding for the new science and dining building is a key priority ahead of a public launch in early 2025.
Nearly half way towards our Giant Strides campaign total.
To date, we have raised £2,320,000 towards our £5 million goal.
In the last academic year:
36 pupils attended on a fully funded place.
51pupils received means tested fee assistance
This year, we raised £704,000 from over 1200 donors.*
Over 100 regular donors (monthly or annual gifts).
93% of fee assisted places were supported at 50% of fees or above.
Over £200,000 was donated from several legacy gifts last year.
71 pupils have attended Emanuel on a means tested bursary or scholarship since the start of the campaign.
*The financial year for the ESGCT has been changed. It will run from 1 September to 31 August in line with the academic year from 01/09/24. This figure covers the extended period of 01/07/23 to 31/08/24. Next year’s report will cover 01/09/24 to 31/08/25.
Philanthropy supports critical build plan
We have taken considerable steps to improve our on site and off site facilities to match the ambitions of our pupils.
We continue to move through the planned phases of the critical build plan, which started with the expansion of the sixth form centre .The new building provides 50% more space and gives our sixth formers a flexible, contemporary space in which to study, socialise and access the support they need from our Careers department.
New science and dining building
We have secured planning permission for a new 4-storey, 4300sqm science and dining building on the main school site.Work is due to commence in 2025. The building will be in full use for the academic year starting in September 2027.
Our flagship science and dining building will be a collaborative hub for STEM subjects that embraces the teaching methods of today.
The building will feature a large, lightfilled refectory (doubling as an assembly/ entertainment space) on the ground floor and 15 modern labs (4 specialist labs each for Biology, Chemistry and Physics along with 3 multi-use labs), a computing space, 8 Maths classrooms and prep and staff rooms on the floors above.
Science and Maths
STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Maths) subjects have become increasingly popular, with a growing number of our pupils taking them at A level and beyond at top universities. Last year, over 30% of pupils went on to study STEM subjects at university.
Our new facilities will have a direct impact on the way current and future generations of pupils study:
• A modern, fit for purpose space that fosters innovation and discovery through collaborative working across the STEM disciplines.
• Larger labs and increased space will enable more practical work, experiments and demonstrations to take place across all year groups.
• Increased engagement and academic enrichment opportunities through cocurricular clubs and societies to extend pupil learning and go beyond the curriculum.
• Efficient, flexible spaces with easy access and flow for technicians and pupils.
• Additional space to host our awardwinning community partnerships programme, offering inspiring hands-on science lessons in fully equipped labs to pupils from local state schools who would otherwise not have access to such facilities.
• New specialist equipment to facilitate scientific investigation.
• The co-location of Maths and Science allows for integrated learning and will enable pupils to easily test mathematical theories and projections in the labs.
Computing spaces
Navigating technological change effectively and safely requires an understanding of digital literacy, information technology and computer science. In addition, Computational thinking skills involve developing effective and efficient solutions to problems; skills which are important to all pupils and used in diverse professions.
Our pupils benefit from comprehensive Computer Science teaching incorporating coding for all, data science, cybersecurity, AI and robotics. The new Computing space will offer:
• Full classroom set of computers along with space for dedicated devices such as Arduino and Raspberry Pi.
• The dedicated resource will allow pupils to fully explore coding by writing executable code that can read and write to the hard drive.
• Students will gain hands-on experience of networking, game making, virtual reality and robotics.
• Specialist equipment - we have recently purchased an Arduino robotic arm and hope to introduce more programmable vehicles and robotic arms.
Refectory
The larger, better equipped kitchen and contemporary, light-filled refectory will facilitate a smoother dining experience for pupils and staff and allow us to offer a more diverse menu. The food court style dining room will offer dishes from across the world, such as Vietnamese and Korean street food. These may provide opportunities for pupils to experience cuisines they have not yet tasted and discover new dishes.
With seating for 412, there will be capacity for more than two full year groups in one sitting. This will give greater flexibility in lunchtime and extra-curricular club scheduling.
The provision of external seating and the flow from indoors to outdoors will both increase the space available and provide a pleasant environment in which to eat and socialise.
Design
The vacated classroom spaces created by the new building will be repurposed to increase our support for the humanities and the arts.
During summer 2024, D&T moved into the ground floor of the Dacre Arts Building, creating an arts hub, a collaborative creative space that will champion art, design, music, drama and film. This is a welltimed investment when exciting career opportunities are continually expanding in engineering, computer aided design, product design, construction and architecture.
Off site sports ground at Raynes Park
(Blagdons)
The phased development of our off site sports facilities has allowed for enhanced participation and performance in cocurricular sport.
Phase 1: All weather pitch and cricket nets
• Home venue for girls’ hockey.
• Girls and boys train and compete together.
• Pitch used for netball, football and tennis through the year.
• Hosted local prep schools and our outreach partners.
Autumn 2023 term:
• 130 school hockey training sessions on the new pitch
• 48 fixtures
• A regional tournament
Phase 2: Hard courts and hybrid cricket pitches
3 hybrid cricket pitches (complete)
• Boys and girls of all ages and abilities can play during the summer
Summer 2024 term:
• 88 matches played - 47 girls’ matches and 41 boys’
Three hard courts for tennis and netball (complete)
• Used for our games programme, friendly fixtures and lower school LTA tournament preparation.
Additional works (complete)
• Path for spectators to use when watching matches on the all weather pitch
• Improvements to the car park.
Phase 3: Pavilion renovation (subject to planning)
With a greater number of spectators and the increasing use of the facilities, an improved pavilion will be a fantastic space for spectators and pupils to enjoy team spirit and refreshments.The pavilion will also be used as an event venue and available for hire at times when it is not being used by the school.
‘There’s a great buzz’
The new facilities at the sports ground have built a thriving community around sport and a great buzz on Saturday mornings with boys and girls competing at the same time.
“Blagdons this year has been such a lovely place for our fixtures with great scenery for our cricket matches and after match teas as well as new pitches for hockey, cricket and netball. It’s terrific to be able to use the sports ground without coach rides to other grounds for
Community use
The new facilities have been a great asset to the local community. At times when they are not being used by the school, they are used to facilitate our outreach programmes or are available for community hire.
In the autumn 2024 term, 15 junior and adult football and hockey teams will train and compete on the all weather pitch for a total of 30 hours per week. We are also looking to rent the tennis and netball courts when they are not being used by the school in spring/summer 2025.
Partnership with Fulham FC Foundation
The facilities are also used by our community outreach partners, such as Fulham FC Foundation who use the all weather pitch for their EmpowHER programme, which
“I love the astroturf and the whole place. We used to play on grass which was often very muddy in the winter and not very good for play ing. Playing under the lights on the astro is sooooo much better!”
is designed to inspire and empower young women to make positive life choices through sports-driven activities.
EmpowHER is centred on football but also includes inspirational female speakers, 1-21 mentors, careers talks and educational workshops.
71 girls ranging in age from 8 to 18 play football every Thursday evening on the astro pitch.
We also host twice-weekly disability football sessions for 70 teens and young adults on our mini astro on the school site, as well as many other community sports initiatives.
We are incredibly grateful to the parents and supporters who have invested in the future of sport at Emanuel.
Transformative free places
36 pupils attended Emanuel on a 100% funded place (a multi-year funded place throughout the school), a number of which are funded by the generosity of parent families and trusts. A further 15 have received funding assistance, with 93% of these supported at 50% or above.
Two new multi-year free places were funded by the generosity of parent supporters. Regular donors collectively supported two fully funded places last year (with Gift Aid). These smaller, regular donations make a huge difference to our free place offering.
Funded places include the cost of fees, uniform and sports kit, co-curricular activities (such as Music lessons) and school
trips. These additional items ensure that every pupil is fully integrated into school life and can benefit from the full range of opportunities available.
This year, we have seen a record number of applications for places throughout the school, reflecting the school’s popularity and excellent results. The number of funding applications has also increased with demand exceeding the resources available to finance them. For example, in the last 3 years, we have seen a 42% increase in applications for fee assistance at sixth form.
You can read more about the impact of a free place on our website here .
What a funded place meant to me - Atitiya
Bursary support has been so helpful throughout my time at Emanuel, from contributing to my first school uniform to my leaver’s hoodie, as well as trips, such as a choir tour to Prague.
Now 8 years later, the surprise I felt on opening my offer letter has dissipated, but my gratitude has multiplied, having experienced the nurturing and passionate teaching at Emanuel, without which I don’t think I would have received a place to study Medicine at Oxford.
The experiences unlocked by my bursary, not just in terms of academics, but also all the co-curricular activities beyond the classroom, have widened my perspectives, and the encouragement and support here has shaped me into a more confident and optimistic person.
I had the chance to meet Old Emanuels who graduated 50 years ago, and despite all the changes between their Emanuel experience and mine, the element that has endured is the community and the positivity of memories made here. I am so fortunate to walk down the bridge to school each day, and whilst I will miss it next year, I am delighted that more and more students are able to have the transformative experience at Emanuel that I have so enjoyed.
“Over the years our son has been at Emanuel, we have seen him grow exponentially, both academically and in wider ways, as a result of the opportunities the school has given him. He felt very lucky to be admitted to Emanuel in the first place, as he was not at all sure of his abilities when younger, and his teachers have been skilful, encouraging and the right amount of demanding throughout. This summer he achieved public exam results significantly beyond our expectations when he joined the school; he feels confident and ready for the next stage of his education. Above all, though, he has been extremely happy at Emanuel: daily life is fun, he has made great friends, and he has loved representing his school at football and rugby. In recognition of his happiness at Emanuel, we chose to donate a portion of our deposit to the fund for fee assistance places, to help enable deserving girls and boys to enjoy the same opportunities he has.”
Alex Frazer, former parent
What a funded place meant to me - Behzad
Travelling past the massive Emanuel gates on my way to my old school, I dreamt of having the chance to study at Emanuel.
The best thing about attending Emanuel was Primary Ambitions. It was amazing to see the school giving support to less fortunate primary school pupils; it put a smile of my face as I saw myself in those kids who also dream of coming to Emanuel.
I am proud of representing Emanuel in 1st XV Rugby in both Year 12 and Year 13.The 2 years I had at Emanuel flashed past and the only regret I have is not taking up more of the activities or opportunities I was so lucky to have been presented with at Emanuel.
My parents would have never been able to afford to send me to a private school. I would just really like to thank the donors who supported me and let them know how much it means for a kid like me who has always had a dream to attend a school like this.
Legacy giving supports the school
Our legacy campaign supports the school’s current and future needs. The grammar school years followed by the national Assisted Places Scheme gave many of our alumni a start in life that has secured their futures; our free place initiative aims to sustain our school’s ability to do this in the years to come.
Unlike many other independent schools, we do not have a large endowment fund so we value legacy and major gifts to help secure our future.
This year, two Old Emanuels left major gifts to support free places and others notified us of their intentions to leave gifts of various sizes.
“Those of us who were privileged to receive a free education at this great school owe a huge debt of gratitude to our benefactors. As the son of poorly educated parents from a very humble background my no better way of repaying this debt, so I have bequeathed a legacy in my will in order that future generations may benefit from a first-class education at
Dere
The 1594 Club
The 1594 Club recognises the generosity of those who honour Lady Anne Dacre by remembering Emanuel in their will. All legacy donors are entitled to become a member of the Club and receive bespoke communications and access to events hosted by the school each year.
Members of the Club help to secure the school for generations to come and allow us to continue to provide inspirational educational experiences for all pupils.
You can find out more about legacies here .
Why I have left a legacy to Emanuel
“I very much enjoyed my time at Emanuel and am grateful for the rigorous and often inspiring teaching. It gave me a solid foundation and helped me get through six years of university.
School should not be just about academic work, however. It should be about value added and a good school should help mould the character of its pupils. Emanuel opened my mind to a lot of new opportunities and experiences.
My old tutor at Warwick University commented that Emanuel pupils were “free thinkers with open minds”. What a wonderful reference for of an Emanuel education, just as
Emanuel School families donate their scholarship in support of free places
Each year, Emanuel offers scholarships and exhibitions to exceptionally talented pupils across Music, Drama, Sport and academia. Scholarships are highly competitive and may provide our pupils with more prestige than financial support – though scholarships can be topped up with means tested bursaries.
Each year, we ask families if they will consider supporting Giant Strides by donating their deposit. 8 families donated more than £17,000 in scholarship funding to support our free places programme last year.We are incredibly grateful for their support. Thank you also to the parents of pupils leaving the school for donating all or a portion of their child’s deposit in support of Giant Strides.
Regular giving
A 7-year fully funded place taking a pupil all the way from year 7 to the end of upper sixth could be funded by:
78 people donating £25 per month*
24 people donating £1,000 per year*
Thank you to nearly 100 donors who choose to support us through regular monthly or annual donations from £5 per month upwards. Regular giving allows us to plan for the future and collectively makes a huge difference. * Including Gift Aid
4 people donating £6,250 per year*
1 person donating £25,000 per year*
Emanuel in the Community
Emanuel School is very much part of the local community and offers a diverse range of partnership and outreach programmes. Our aim is to foster aspiration and social mobility through education so that young people who participate in our programmes can make the best of themselves.
In 2023/24, 1080 pupils from local partner primary schools with an average of 46% of pupils on free school meals participated in our Primary Ambitions enrichment
In 2023-24:
32
Partner schools
320
Year 4 children participating in our football tournaments
programme. Since its launch, we have developed a partnership network of 25 primary schools, 7 state secondary schools and numerous community organisations and have offered over 25,000 hours of education, sport or cultural opportunities to local children and young people.
Please read our Emanuel in the Community publication for more information and to see the impact of our programmes.
These initiatives are made possible through the dedication and support of our pupils, staff, parents and Old Emanuels. Thank you.
1080
3300
primary pupils participating in Primary Ambitions pupil swimming hours over 2023-24 for 4 schools
11
35 1850+ 300
144 4000+ 70
285
primary school children attended Primary Ambitions each week
community organisations children participating in Ascent from 10 partner schools staff working hours in our partnerships young people playing disability football and hockey each term students working hours in our partnerships children in receipt of fee assistance GCSE booster hours for 2 partner schools
OEA supports Primary Ambitions
For the third year running, the Old Emanuel Association (OEA) has supported Primary Ambitions with a grant of £3,000 to provide transport for five schools to attend the programme. The donation enables us to provide each of the five schools with weekly transport to and from their schools to attend a 5-week module.This has allowed 75 partner school children to access 375 hours of enrichment through Primary Ambitions.
Many of our 16 partner primary schools come to us on Friday afternoon under their own steam but others cannot participate in the weekly Primary Ambitions programme without help with transport. These partner schools have insufficient staff to bring their children safely to Emanuel School on public transport or on foot. By providing them with access to a minibus, we enable our partner pupils and our Lower Sixth to fully benefit from the programme.
Careers and networking
Parents and Old Emanuels contributed over 350 volunteer hours to support our careers and networking events this year. 50 parents attended our Careers and Higher Education Convention to offer their expert advice and guidance to pupils in year 11 and the sixth form. Professionals in attendance represented careers in a broad range of industries including law, finance, medicine, film and TV, music and advertising.
Thank you also to the parents and OEs who volunteer as guest interviewers to prepare our Oxbridge candidates for their interviews. Applicants benefit from meeting experienced mentors who can share their expertise and career journey.
Preserving
our history through the archive
We are one of the oldest schools in London and are proud of our rich heritage.
Emanuel is fortunate to have a dedicated school archive run by Mr Tony Jones, who has digitised our school publications, photographs, school rolls, cast lists, speech day programmes and much more. Over the last two years, we have completed the long-term project of digitising the oldest Admission Registers from 1922-1944.These final six volumes amount to several thousand scanned pages.
Thank you to the many OEs who have donated artefacts, memorabilia and stories from their time at Emanuel so that we can keep alive the rich history of our school for the generations to come. This year we have received books, photos, sports medals, ties, badges, caps, t-shirts, rowing tankards, rugby jerseys and vintage train tickets to Blagdons and a huge number of interesting stories and interviews.
More 2023-24 highlights
Awards
Alongside our fundraising success, we were finalists in the London School of the Year Award, a competition run by the ‘Independent School of Year’ organisation.
Public exam outcomes 2023
Our GCSE pupils achieved exceptional results, with 41% of grades at level 9, our highest outcome in any examination year. Over two-thirds of results were graded 9 or 8. Almost fifty pupils elected to take an additional Further Mathematics qualification and 85% of these received grades 9-7. 95% of Art, Design Technology, Drama and Music entries were graded 9-7
Students also achieved strong outcomes at A level result with 9 pupils gaining an Oxbridge place and 42 pupils (more than a quarter of the year group) achieving 100% A*-A grades. Over 85% were awarded their choice of university and 32% of offers were for STEM subjects.
Goddard Lectures
The Goddard lectures offer pupils an opportunity to hear from experts in various fields, aiming to promote a high level of academic and professional engagement from pupils.
Dr. Gabriel Weston, renowned surgeon, author and television presenter expertly answered lower school questions covering medicine, literature and the media.
Professor Alan Dangour, Director of Climate and Health at the Wellcome Trust, spoke about the toll our progress in reducing poverty and increasing life expectancy has taken on our planet. He provoked discussion on topics such as response to climate change and emphasised the pivotal role that the Sixth Form pupils play as future change makers.
Anna Hemmings, Britain’s most successful female kayaker and winner of 9 World and European championship gold medals, spoke to Year 7 & 8 on the topic of resilience and achieving success in the face of adversity.
If you are able to deliver an insightful Goddard Lecture or know somebody who can help us inspire our pupils with an interesting topic, please let us know –development@emanuel.org.uk
Donor roll
Thank you for your support.
We are pleased to acknowledge all donors whose gifts and pledges were received between 1 July, 2023 and 31 August, 2024.
Whilst all care and attention has been taken in compiling this list, please accept our apologies
Nigel Hollington
Ronald Horlock
Alexander Howell
Donald Hudson
Donald Inkster
Lisa Irwin and Graham Burgess
Markus Jaigirder
William and Melanie Jamieson
Kate Jay
Nigel Johnson
Ronald Jordan
Marshall Kearney
Andrew Keddie
Henry King
Andrea Konig
David Lain
Peter Lawrence
Edward Lawrence
Mark and Anna Lawry
John Layng
Adam and Anne Levine
Richard and Laura Levy
Frances Low
Yann Maidment
Tanvier Malik and Fariba Faraji
Alexander Malmaeus and Jacqueline Appel
Christopher Mansi and Maria Micheli
David Marquand
Adrian Marsh
Paul Martin
Paul and Kitty Martin
Nick Martin and Clare Macmichael
Robin McDermott
Ian Mella
Neil Miller
Christopher and Isabelle Mills
Robert Milne
Dominic Moore
Stephen Moss
Michael Moutrie
Dhiraj and Rachel Mukherjee
Brian and Alison Norman
Richard and Caroline O’Callaghan
David O’Connell
Ryan and Samantha O’Grady
Bill and Fiona Packman
Colin Parbury and Zerafina Idris Parbury
Mark Pavitt
Brian Pendry
Robin Pollock
Graham Postles and Elizabeth Hett
Christopher Pratt
Charles and Lydia Pretzlik
Patrick and Elizabeth Rackow
Guillaume Raillard and Asna Mohamad
Richard Raine
Iain Reid
Simon Richardson and Franca Serafini
Richard Robeson
Stephen Rowland
Lindsay Sabin
Derek Saunders
Claude Scott
Joban Sehmi
Simone Shaw
Simon Smith and Emma Healey
Paul and Jessica Staddon
Richard Stephens
Michael Stobbs and Georgina Holmes
Robert Stranks
John Sullivan
Gordon Summers
Colin Sutherland
Nick and Nia Syson
Chi Fai Tang
Richard Tarrant
Basil Taylor
Nicola Tee
Alexander Thompson
James and Julia Thompson
Matt Townsend and Dee Von Der
Trappen
Roger Turner
Anna Van Es
Michael Walker
David Wall
Jonathan and Victoria Walton
Duncan and Angela Watts
David West
Michael Wilkinson
David Williams
Steve Williams
Micaela Wing
Keith Wood
Rupert Youngman and Amanda Watkins
Hayes Kent Village Associaton
Charles Wolfson Charitable Trust
The Bellasis Trust
The Langton Trust
Pilanesburg Foundation
Wates Family Enterprise Trust
Ways of giving
On our website – set up a single or regular gift
Naming opportunities –there is the opportunity to recognise major gifts with naming.
Legacy giving – see page 16 or find out more online
Please contact development@emanuel.org.uk with any questions.
