Overwhelming support for refugees on Bedales community day
Coinciding with the refugee crisis in Eastern Europe caused by the Russian military invasion of Ukraine, Bedales held a community day dedicated to supporting the plight of refugees. In the run-up to the day, members of the community donated items which were despatched to support Ukrainians in Poland.
Activities on 8 March 2022 included talks from an Afghan refugee, mobilising the whole school to complete a sponsored walk of the distance from Syria to Steep in one day, and holding a fundraising Art Sale with students heavily involved in its planning and delivery.
Over £50,000 was raised in this single day for the Rural Refugee Network charity with whom the school has developed a really productive partnership.
Aims
To enable students to complete a project of ‘real world learning’ working in partnership with a charity as part of their Global Awareness Bedales Assessed Course
To show what can be achieved from a collective effort and endeavour when the school community comes together to support a cause
To fundraise significant funds for a refugee charity
To create educational opportunities to raise the profile of the plight of refugees globally, and how they can be supported both practically and in the longer term
To create a challenging but achievable physical challenge for students, covering the 4,000 kms distance from Idlib (Syria) to Steep (Hampshire, UK)
In parallel, to support the immediate community surrounding the school with a work force of willing helpers
Background
Each term Bedales students come off-timetable for a community day named after figures in the school’s history. Previously, there has been support for local charities, work in the community, assisting local primary schools with landscaping projects, and also working to improve the Bedales School estate itself.
The main events for this community ‘Powell day’ (named after the school’s co-founder) included:
Refugee talks - Inviting Gulwali Passarlay, Afghan refugee, to give a talk to students about his own journey, the situation in Afghanistan and the refugee crisis more broadly. Between talks, Gulwali found time to complete the fundraising walk with students. More information on Gulwali is available here.
Syria to Steep walk in a day - Bedales students walked a 12 km circuit in the local Queen Elizabeth Country Park which is nestled in the South Downs National Park. Students walked in tutor groups. Coaches were used to stagger the arrival of the students, who set off over a three hour window. The school’s catering team provided a packed lunch and hot refreshments in their converted horsebox at the end of the walk. Each tutor group had its own fundraising page which created some healthy competition to be top fundraisers (for which prizes were offered).
Most students were walking, although a small number were dedicated to other activities on the day: one group carried out some cleaning of a community play area. Other students who were rehearsing Dance wore pedometers to contribute an additional 69 kms to the walk total.
Art Sale - A group of three Block 5 (Year 11) students worked on the Art Sale over a six month period as part of their Global Awareness Bedales Assessed Course (equivalent to a GCSE). They were joined by representatives of the Rural Refugee Network charity and Bedales staff to plan the art sale at a fortnightly, and then weekly Teams meeting. The fundraising model was that the sale price would be split 50/50 between artist and the charity. Artwork was gathered from local artists, alumni, parents, and students at Bedales Senior and Prep. A professional curator worked with the students to manage the display of artwork. Once the space had been chosen, an exhibition company was brought in to provide the panels to hang the artwork. 227 items were exhibited, and 95 items sold on the night, with a total sales value of £60,910.
Resources
The main resource was the extensive team of students, staff, volunteers and sponsors. Several external partners and suppliers were also engaged to support the events, funded either from the community day budget, or recouped from the art sale. These included:
A known and trusted Polish courier to deliver items to Ukraine
As the school’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Approved Activity Provider, Ridgeline Adventure supported the planning and supervision of the whole-school Syria to Steep walk.
A specialist exhibition firm, Symbiosis, provided the infrastructure for the pop-up gallery panels and lighting for the art sale.
The Givepenny fundraising platform was used to manage donations for the walk (donations can be made here.
Impact
In total 423 students and staff walked 5,145 kms, more than the distance from Syria to Steep.
At time of writing, the day had raised more than £50,000 for the Rural Refugee Network.
Julia Newton, founder of the Rural Refugee Network said:
“The amount raised at the Bedales Art Sale is nothing short of life changing for the Rural Refugee Network and the families it serves. Currently there is rightfully much attention on the plight of refugees but it is worth highlighting that Bedales has supported our charity since its inception and created a meaningful full partnership with us in 2018. They have supported us during some tough times - like all charities we suffered enormously from not being able to raise funds during the pandemic and it is thanks to Bedales unstinting support that we not only survived but have been able to continue life changing and much needed work even during lockdowns.
Their support means we will continue to save lives in the future by bringing refugees to safety in the UK, and to do the especially important work of helping those here to find their feet in our communities. The core team of two staff and three students worked tirelessly with a wider group of volunteers at the school and charity to ensure an extraordinary evening and an outstanding result. This is the fourth Art Sale the RRN has been involved in and this was by far the most successful. And on top of that the walk raised over £20,000 - the Board of Trustees and I are blown away. Thank you so much for all you have done.”
Will Goldsmith, Head of Bedales, commented:
"Our school's commitment to a global perspective, on remaining true to our pacifist traditions and to respecting everyone was very much in evidence last Tuesday. Our support, in particular, for the Rural Refugee Network predates the current crisis in Ukraine by four years as we know there are victims of war and repression around the world. The amount raised and the quantity of items collected, especially for such a relatively small school, is genuinely remarkable and I am so proud of the students, staff and parents who made it possible."
A visitor to the Art Sale added: “Thank you to everyone involved for an uplifting evening. The welcome from the students was heart-warming. As an Old Bedalian from the 1950s it was great to see the spirit of Bedales is alive and well.”
A teacher commented: “Amazing day! Brilliant to be out with students - perfect distance/difficulty, amazing speaker. Massive well done.”
A short film of the day is available here.
Pupil Involvement
Significant - over 370 students (Years 9 - 13) completed the fundraising walk. 17 students took a major role in supporting the Art sale.
Frequency
The community days take place termly.
