From the PA

What a surreal year 2019-2020 has been for all including the Glendower Parents Association. Due to the pandemic our usual exciting timetable of activities was thrown into the air and we had to postpone all our scheduled events. Our committee members had spent many hours preparing and organising, but these hours have not gone to waste because as soon as we are able, we will hopefully be able to come together and continue the wonderful and charitable work that our Association does so well.

As I reflect upon the year and what we achieved, I wish to thank our wonderful parent community for their generous support. The pandemic has been difficult to navigate but I know that this will make us resilient and we will continue with the fulfilling work of the Glendower Parents Association in whatever form we can.

We held our annual book fair in aid of the school library in November. Parent volunteers came into Glendower to assist the girls make their selections from a wide range of exciting and new titles. The girls also purchased books from the donations table that were donated to the school library, as a consequence the library received a wonderful selection of new books that the girls can continue to read over the coming years.

November also saw the annual Christmas bazaar, themed ‘Winter Wonderland’. For the first time tickets were sold online on our new Glendower PA website which proved to be hugely successful. Year on year I am surprised by how magically the school is transformed. Following on from last year success the girls were invited to make personalised decorations that were hung around the school. The Christmas bazaar team had an extra hard task given that the school was in the midst of major renovation work, and it was only the night before the bazaar that the old office entrance was finally finished which allowed for the route into the school. Elf security ensured that everyone attending was able to move around safely. A pick and mix candy stall and PA merchandise were new additions in the marquee whereas the ever-popular tombola delighted the girls in the Whitehouse. The bazaar raised in excess of £10,000 for charitable causes.

Our second-hand uniform sales are hugely popular, and this year was no exception. Last year we made the decision to sell both winter and summer uniforms together with PA merchandise at all future sales in order for parents to get everything that they needed. We also introduced an afterschool sale which has been very successful. The PA is always sourcing fun and practical merchandise, this year we launched a very cute and cuddly Glendower bunny together with a new water bottle, both have been very popular and continue to be available at our sales.

A few year groups were able to host a bake sale before the pandemic put an end to this activity. Lots of different sweet treats and savoury items were on sale. Through the combined efforts of the girls and their parents we were able to raise over £1500.

Years 3 and 4 now hold a second-hand book sale in lieu of a bake sale. This took place in February in the playground. Girls were able to donate their old books and purchase books from those on sale. The sale raised over £400 and the surplus which was in excess of 300 books was donated to a local School in Earl’s Court.

We continued to run the PA lecture series, these lectures always prove to be very popular and tackled important issues facing parents. In October John Perry delivered a very interesting talk on building personal resilience and in February The Parent Practice came in to talk about Developing emotional intelligence in children. Both lectures were well received and we continue to look for further interesting topics that would benefit our parent community.

Glendower Head’s night is held every two years and is aimed predominately at Upper School parents, arranged entirely by the PA, six heads from popular day and boarding schools are invited to talk about their school and to take questions from Glendower parents. There is a further opportunity to speak to the Heads of these schools in an informal drinks event afterwards. This year the Heads Night team had worked tirelessly to organise the evening to take place in April. Unfortunately, this all had to be cancelled. We hope to be able to host this again in the near future.

The Spring gala is a biannual event which the entire Glendower community looks forward to and this year was no exception. Detailed planning had begun in earnest and the venue ‘The Londoner’ an exciting new hotel in Leicester square had been booked and the theme of red carpet chosen, befitting of the venue. The Gala committee had started to source and receive many exciting donations unfortunately this was all put on hold as the pandemic worsened. We are preparing to relaunch this event once we are able so watch this space!

It has been a very strange year, but I am extremely thankful to the PA Committee and class representatives who have worked tirelessly through such adversity. Thank you to all our Glendower families for helping us make our events successful and for their generosity. I also extend my gratitude to the Glendower governors and staff for their support and assistance in what can only be described as a very challenging year.

Mrs Kiran Bahl PA Chairperson