Arnold House Fundraising Update 2015

FUNDRAISINGNEWS 2015

The development of the Arnold House Bursary Scheme over the past six years has, for me, been a richly rewarding experience. It has been the right thing for a prep school to try to emulate the great Public Schools, such as City of London, Eton, Harrow, Rugby and St. Paul’s, by offering bursary places to boys of potential and good character, albeit at a younger age. In truth it is something the prep schools should have begun

many years ago, but at least the idea has now taken hold and a clear direction of travel has been set for the future. I am extremely proud of everyone’s efforts here at Arnold House in helping to establish such firm foundations for our own Bursary Scheme. Long may the Arnold House community continue to work together towards such a worthy educational cause.

We have five bursary boys in the School at the present time and although two of them are set to move on to Harrow next September, we are hopeful that it won’t be too long into the future before we reach our target of supporting eight boys as a matter of course every year.

Viv Thomas Headmaster

THE BURSARY SCHEME: YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED Why did Arnold House decide to set up a bursary scheme?

What is the longer-term fundraising plan for the scheme?

Although our first bursary boy started at the School in 2007, the decision by the Governors to formalise the process and increase the number of bursaries available to boys in Years 5 to 8 was not taken until 2010. The timing was also in line with the then requirements of Public Benefit as laid out by the Charities Commission. Even though there is no longer such a focus on those requirements, the Governors are unanimous in confirming their dedication and long term commitment to the scheme.

To build-up a substantial endowment fund to secure the future of the bursary scheme for years to come.

How are boys selected?

A thorough selection process has been in place since 2010. This starts with advertising for applicants in local publications, churches, libraries, community centres, doctors’ surgeries and youth centres. Applicants are then invited for initial tests to ensure that they will be able to cope with the academic

pace at Arnold House and from there selected boys are interviewed whilst the parents meet the Headmaster.

Candidates who are deemed to be a good fit for Arnold House come in for a ‘taster day’ prior to any an offer being made. The whole process takes up to three months. An independent finance company ‘Bursary Administration Ltd’ attend to the detail of the means tested application form to advise the School on the level of financial assistance to be offered.

How do you support the boys in their transition to Arnold House?

us know of their progress throughout their senior school years and beyond.

the generosity of members of the School community in donating to the Bursary Fund.

The Registrar and Bursar initially visit the families’ homes and talk about life at Arnold House, uniform ordering etc. The Registrar remains the first point of contact until the Form Tutor and Head of Year add to the team on arrival. Parents are welcomed to parent evenings and other functions.

How does the School and pupils benefit from the bursary scheme?

What are the options for giving?

How many bursary boys have been funded by the scheme?

Twelve boys have been funded to date – there are currently five at the School.

What happens when a boy is 13 and leaves Arnold House?

Links have been established with a number of senior schools to ensure the continuation of the boy’s education under a similar bursary scheme to 18. To date, boys have gone on to either Rugby, Mill Hill and City of London on 100% bursaries.

Does the school give ongoing support to boys once they leave Arnold House?

This has not been required so far as the senior schools take on that responsibility.

As with all Arnold House families the boys are encouraged to keep in touch and let

Whilst bursaries are life-changing for those boys who are selected for the programme, they also have a positive impact on the School and its community. We have found that the addition of new, talented, bright boys into the senior end of the School has served to broaden all the boys’ outlook on life and has encouraged everyone to make the very most of the opportunities in front of them. They bring diversity to our community, enriching it for everyone whilst acting as a reminder that all AH boys are fortunate to be able to enjoy the privileges of an Arnold House education.

What is the overall cost of supporting a bursary place?

The cost of supporting a boy on a 100% bursary based on current fee rates over the four years from Years 5 to 8 is approximately £75,000. This will cover school trips, uniform, books and extras such as music lessons. A third of this is covered by general fee income, leaving approximately £50,000 per place reliant on

Donations can be given as a one off payment or monthly direct debit to the Arnold House Bursary Fund account.

More recently, we have set up named bursaries where sponsorship of a specific boy is possible throughout his time at AH. Donations can be given by cheque, CAF voucher or by credit card or direct debit online.

How will a donation be used?

It will be used to pay for a boy’s education, uniform, trips etc. or put into the endowment fund.

How will we be updated about the progress of the scheme?

At events (namely the annual fundraising event), through letter correspondence, the School’s publications and the website or in person through the Development Office.

We hope that this explains how the bursary scheme works, but if you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to contact Stephanie Miller in the Development Office on 020 7266 6989.

ARNOLD HOUSE SCHOOL

A Night at the

RACES Thursday10th March 2016 at 7pm

On Thursday 10th March Arnold House will host ‘A Night at the Races’ and all bets are on for a glamorous evening as The American School is transformed into a Royal Enclosure fit for Ascot.

Buy a horse…sponsor a race…name a jockey or simply place a bet. 50% of all winnings will be donated to the Bursary Fund.

Tickets will be available from January and will cost £35 per person including food and drinks.

There will be a silent auction and raffle, all proceeds of which will be donated to the Bursary Fund.

“Nobody has ever bet enough on a winning horse” proverb

The American School in London

ARNOLD HOUSE SCHOOL

A Night at the

RACES

Auction in aid of the Bursary Fund

Tickets £35pp Including dinner and drinks

AUCTION SITE UPDATE Since the launch of the Arnold House Online Auction last November, £2,005 has been raised from bidding for event tickets and items directly through the site. A year on and the site has a fresh new look and is even more user friendly.

We are grateful for the donation of any items from our parents and old boys at any time during the school year.

Unwanted tickets to sporting events, theatre shows and exhibitions as well as memorabilia and other interesting items that need a new home are much appreciated. In addition, the School will continue to auction two reserved front row seats to all the upcoming Arnold House concerts and plays.

The Auction website can be accessed through a link on the front page of the School’s website and continues to be updated on an ongoing basis.

ANNUAL FUND The Annual Fund is a popular and successful fundraising initiative at Arnold House and 2015 has been no exception. This year, parents have funded the purchase of a number of new and exciting learning tools including 3D printer pens for the art department, a weather station for geography, a giant flower model for science and thirty chapel choir gowns to be used at our church services. In addition, fundraising has continued for the purchase of two new pianos for the School. We are delighted to announce that the Parents’ Association committed a significant donation to purchase a piano for Canons Park in memory of Andrew Cuthbertson who taught piano at the School for twenty five years and sadly passed away earlier this year. We have also recently

received donations to cover the last few keys for a new piano at Loudoun Road.

Both pianos will be in situ for the start of the spring term.

The School is most grateful to those parents and old boys who have supported these projects which directly enhance our facilities for teaching and learning.

AMAZON FUNDRAISING Arnold House School has recently become an Amazon Associate; meaning that each time you shop on Amazon using the School link, they will make a donation directly to the AH Bursary Fund. The amount donated will depend on the item but can be anything up to 10% of its value.

The best thing about it is that the donation costs the shopper absolutely

nothing. Once you have used the link to access Amazon you log onto your account and purchase items as normal.

The best way to enable you to do this on a regular basis is to “Bookmark” the link in your web browser.

We encourage all current and past parents, old boys, staff and friends of the Arnold House community to help Amazon in their philanthropic duties by

using the link below: http://www.amazon.co.uk/?ie=UTF8& link_code=hom&placement=home_ multi.gif&tag=arnhousch-21 The link can also be found on our website under ‘Support Us’.

CHARITY During the past year, boys, staff and parents have raised an impressive £13,470 for charities including ZSL Edge and the St John’s Hospice.

Following the Year 6 boys’ research and charity presentations as part of their Compass Course in the summer term, the School voted to support Mercy Ships this academic year.

Mercy Ships currently operates the largest non-governmental hospital ship in the world, providing free health care, community development projects, community health education, mental health programs, agriculture projects, and palliative care for terminally ill patients. Having operated in more than 57 developing nations and 18 developed nations

around the world, Mercy Ships has a current focus on the countries of Africa.

In order to kick start the fundraising and awareness for this very worthy cause, all the boys took part in a ‘Heroes & Villains’ themed charity day before the autumn half term raising £2,175 for the charity.

HANSON’S HEROES To mark the centenary of Arnold House in 2005, the School created a Centenary Path of commemorative bricks in the front courtyard. In 2006, following a competition among current boys, the project was renamed Hanson’s Heroes, after Miss Amy Hanson who founded the School in 1905.

Each brick is inscribed with the name of a present or past boy and the year in which he joined the School. These special paving bricks are individually created with each boy’s name deeply etched into the upper surface. A special black resin is used for the lettering, which is guaranteed to last the lifetime of the brick.

Bricks are installed once a year over the summer break and this year forty new Hanson Heroes were added raising £4,000 for extra resources at the School which the boys will all benefit from such as equipment for IT, music, sport and the library.

£57,650 has been raised since the start of the brick campaign

HOW TO DONATE Donations to the Bursary Fund can be made by cheque or bank transfer directly to the Arnold House Bursary Fund bank account or by Charity Voucher.

Please contact Stephanie Miller, Director of Development, for further details at smiller@arnoldhouse.co.uk or on 020 7266 6989.

Your support is greatly appreciated.

Arnold House School 1 Loudoun Road St. John’s Wood, London NW8 0LH Telephone: 020 7266 4840 Email: office@arnoldhouse.co.uk Website: www.arnoldhouse.co.uk Arnold House School Ltd (Limited by Guarantee). Registered in London Number 889424. Educational Charitable Trust Number 312725