The Friends has a Registered Charity Status, (Registration Number 1044389), and our main aim is to fund raise to raise money to help support, develop and continuously improve our school for the benefit of the students.
The Friends aim to hold several enjoyable fundraising events throughout the year, many of which are well supported by local community residents. These have included events such as a duck race, hosting a circus and fairs.
The Friends host an annual “Afternoon Tea”, where many members of the community enjoy a quintessential afternoon tea, some fun entertainment & a bit of shopping provided by local small businesses. This is a very popular event and one that residents of several local villages love to take part in. We hope to make it bigger and better each year, and it’s a fantastic way to show the school as the heart of a thriving rural community.
The Friends also hold a ‘Christmas Fair’ in School every November, which is a lovely start to our Christmas Celebrations. We play host to lots of stall holders during the evening all kicked off beautifully by the School Children singing Christmas carols.
Other exciting events we host/have hosted are “theme nights”, quiz nights, bingo nights, beetle drive and much more. Many of these events provide fun and entertainment for all ages.
The Friends provide help to the school in the way of fund raising for buses for school trips, which offer vital extra-curricular learning opportunities for the children (some of these buses are in excess of £300 a trip). Without the contributions from the Friends, visits by outside agencies, educational trips, and new equipment may not happen.
All funds raised by the Friends provides direct positive enrichment for the children, such as the purchase of laptops, ipads, playground equipment, books and sports equipment. In addition to these, funds raised by the Friends helps to pay for an annual trip to the Pantomine each Christmas, an Easter Gift from the Friends, and the children are treated to a Christmas Party where we have a special visit from Santa! Additionally, year 6 leavers are given a special leaving gift from the Friends.
The school arrange to take KS2 Children on a Residential Trip every other year. The Friends heavily subsidise this trip by £1500.00 each visit. These trips are very popular and are an excellent chance for the children to build confidence and team building skills.
Of course these events and fund raising activities do not host themselves, and we are always on the lookout for any help. Any parent/carer wishing to join as a committee member, or anyone able to offer any kind of help for any events – small or big any contribution is greatly appreciated; please feel free to have a chat with one of our current committee members, contact me on the email below, or speak to a member of staff who will happily direct you to us.
Every time a parent, friend, carer, or member of the public buys a raffle ticket, Christmas card pack designed by the children or offer a donation they/you are directly helping the school raise much needed funding, and we are hugely grateful for the support. You can support our events through our Friends Of Lockington events website to keep abreast of our events – found at https://www.pta-events.co.uk/friendsoflockington/index.cfm?event=event&eventId=75726
Finally, it’s important to recognise the hard work and dedication the committee and members of the Friends put into planning, running events and seeking donations for fundraising so I’d like to thank everyone for their support. For instance, we are delighted to have received a donation of scooter accessories from Micro Scooters. Renowned for revolutionising the school run with their iconic 3 wheel scooters, did you know Micro also have an award winning nursery range including ride-on toddler scooters, Space hoppers and a new stroller? We are very grateful for their support.
Here’s to many more exciting fund-raising activities and having fun along the way!
Many Thanks
Leanne Barrett
Chair
The Friends of Lockington School