Issue Number 36 w/c 13th April 2015 & w/c 20th April 2015 Volunteering in Kosovo On Thursday 16 April we welcomed Elizabeth Gowing, the British founder of Kosovan charity The Ideas Partnership, to Heathfield. The visit was particularly timely as it coincides with preparations being well underway for the trip five girls and three members of staff will take to Kosovo in the first week of the summer holidays. Elizabeth spoke to girls and staff about Kosovo, giving us an insight into what it is like to live and work in Europe’s newest nation. She shared a selection of photographs of the country, revealing a dramatic landscape, picturesque villages and diverse architecture from the Ottoman to Yugoslav periods. Elizabeth then showed us another image. This image was a far cry from the rolling hills and imposing mountains and was the one that sparked a quite incredible charitable project, one with which Heathfield is excited to be involved. This image showed a small girl wearing a pair of oversized shoes. We found out that the reason her shoes are so large is because, in the neighbourhood in which she lives, one of the poorest in Europe, each family only has one pair of shoes to share between them. Elizabeth told us the story of getting this little girl to school and how, at most, they expected to help a dozen or so of her friends from the Roma community, just outside Prishtina, Kosovo’s modern, cosmopolitan capital. Just a couple of years later, Elizabeth and her team have helped hundreds of disadvantaged children access education…and keep them there. The charity has also diversified, helping not only children into school but also their parents; people who have been denied an education for a lifetime who have been so inspired by their children’s progress that they too want their high school diploma. Elizabeth brought some of the beautiful handmade jewellery, soaps and bags made by women from the community and sold across Prishtina, and increasingly online, bringing a sense of ownership to women who have spent their lives disenfranchised. The girls and staff took the opportunity to browse these, and Elizabeth’s latest books, after the insightful question and answer session. Tea and cakes in the Library followed the presentation of a donation from Heathfield to the work of The Ideas Partnership, money we know is already helping fund trips to hospital for people who could not otherwise afford it. We thank Elizabeth for her time and very much look forward to telling you all about our adventures in Kosovo this July. Mr T Pithers, Teacher of English
Visit to Finchampstead Village shop Form IV Business Studies students are required to carry out an investigation into a small business for their controlled assessment (worth 25% of their final grade). The topic for this year’s investigation is to assess if the location of the business is suitable and suggest if an alternative location would be better suited for the business. Eight girls, Gina, Anoushka, Sophia, Kitty, Maria, Samantha, Emilia and Sophie travelled 10 miles by minibus to The Village Shop in Finchampstead. They interviewed the shop owner Sandy Barrie and customers visiting the shop to find out if the shop was in the right location. Luckily the weather was kind to us and it was a sunny but breezy morning. Finchampstead is a small village with about 1,700 residents, who are mainly retired, or directors, managers and other professionals. The girls found footfall was slow and to begin with only retired people or customers passing by to buy petrol. At midday the parents of preschool children arrived at the village hall opposite the shop to collect their children. As they left the village hall the girls were able to interview them and add more data to their collection, although some parents jumped into their cars and drove off saying they didn’t know there was a village shop across the road and several who were interviewed did not use the shop. After about one hour there seemed to be no customers as it was now 1.30pm and people may have been at home or work having their lunch. We then decided to tour the local area to assess other suitable locations for The Village Shop. Miss G Kendall, Teacher in Charge: Business Studies