Community Giving Day

An annual day where all TS students are off curricular. It is both a fundraising day for the school’s bursary scheme and a day where all students and teaching staff are involved with events with the community both onsite and offsite.

Tonbridge’s campus is filled with 600 visiting children enjoying over 28 different sport, artistic and academic activities, from rocketry to dance, maggot racing to performance poetry.  Our Novi (Year 9s) are responsible for hosting the children, ensuring that they get to their activities on time and encouraging them to really have a go at all they are offered.  The activities themselves are run by the Lower VI, and all boys really rise to the challenges of these roles resulting in a fantastic day.

As part of the day boys visit partners to complete projects on their sites. This has included creating gardens, ponds and raised beds, running sports festivals and helping to create costumes and sets for a school productions. Throughout the day in 2023, over 20 tonnes of wood chip, soil or compost were moved, hundreds of flowering plants and vegetables were planted, over 30 bird boxes were put up and 3 ponds were planted with native British pond plants.

Aims

To provide enrichment and co-curricular activities to primary school students and community groups.

Background

This day has run for over 15 years and is a great chance to bring a lot of the partners that we work with together for one day.

Resources

All 806 TS pupils and all academic staff members along with support staff.

Each offsite project receives £1,000 towards their project.

Impact

The primary schools enjoy an off-curriculum enrichment day with a chance to try new activities. Tonbridge school students develop their communication and leadership skills, as well as having to show adaptability in a varied and complex programme.

Pupil Involvement

All of our students are involved in either an off-site or on-site project.

Frequency

Annual day