On the final day of the Spring half term, the pupils took part in our annual Charities afternoon, raising money for a local charity, Riding for the Disabled Association (RDA).
One of our greatest achievements is the vast amount of charitable work and fund-raising that continues to be undertaken by the whole school community year on year. The annual Charities Day is an opportunity for the children, teachers, and parents to come together as a community to raise money and awareness for local charities and their invaluable work.
In the afternoon, the pupils finished their lessons to set up a wide variety of stalls, including ten pin bowling and nerf gun wars to pin the tail on the pony, target shooting and paper airplane throwing. The school spent the afternoon with their friends and siblings enjoying the activities, whilst donating money to charity. We were delighted that the RDA attended the afternoon with their Shetland pony, Barney; the children were very excited to meet him and hear about some of the inspiring work he and his fellow stablemates do to bring happiness to so many young peoples lives.
The Riding for the Disabled Associations horses and ponies benefit the lives of over 25,000 disabled children and adults. With fun activities like riding and carriage driving, they provide therapy, fitness, skills development, and opportunities for achievement, all supported by amazing volunteers and qualified coaches at RDA centres all over the UK. RDA is an inclusive and diverse organisation, bringing the therapy, achievement, and fun of horses to as many people as they can. They are able to carry out their life-changing activities thanks to the generosity of their donors, the dedication of their volunteers and the good nature of their equine friends.
Putting others first is a central tenet of life at Danes Hill and the pupils, staff and parents are dedicated to helping others. As part of this years Charities Day, the School community also took to rowing machines and travelled the length of the Thames. The teamwork of all those involved certainly paid off, as many donations were made throughout the journey. The school is delighted with the money raised for the RDA on the day, and an amazing total of £3973 will support the charities’ upcoming projects.
Rob Andrews, Acting Head said,
Guiding our pupils to become thoughtful and sociable citizens, who will take their place in the world aware of the role they can play, is at the heart of what we aspire to achieve. We are proud to support the work of vital charities that offer invaluable support to so many
