Friends of Putney High School
Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2020
Friends of Putney High School Annual Report and Accounts For the Year Ended 31 August 2020
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Friends of Putney High School
Trustees’ Annual Report for the year ended 31 August 2020
The year ended 31 August 2020 has seen the Friends of Putney High School (FOPHS) raise over £40,000. This has been achieved thanks to the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm of our parent volunteers throughout the school and, it should be noted, despite a shorter fundraising year than usual due to Covid-19 and the UK lockdown.
We are very grateful to all the staff who have helped FOPHS over the past year and who have provided invaluable support. In addition to the Senior School and Junior School Leadership teams, special thanks go to Sarah Adams, Annabel Laity and Suzanne Fearon from Communications and Development as well as the staff in the school offices, Finance and Operations and the caretakers and catering teams. We thank you for your support and enthusiasm for all the activities that FOPHS has undertaken this year.
The trustees
We would like to thank all the trustees who have served on the FOPHS Committee since the last AGM, which was held on Monday 23rd September 2019.
Teachers: Mrs Longstaff, Mrs Armstrong, Mr McMillan, Mrs PageRoberts, Mr Miller, Ms Franks plus Suzanne Fearon (Director of Communicatons and Development).
The FOPHS Standing Committee: Jane Day, Vanessa Robert, Pragna Patel, Alice Maughan, Jo Butter and Sharon Kaye.
Parent Reps:
Taira Bhattacharya, Liz Leicester, Siobhan Leistikow, Claire McCormack, Perrine Faye, Mridula Mutharaju, Martha Sykes, Juliana Jones, Louise Bowen, Vicky Fathers, Christobel de Cruz, Bronwyn Crockett, Sara Levy and Jennifer Spink.
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We would also like to thank the Deputy Reps:
Vivian Rittenberg, Jamini Kesavan, Monica Sood, Lois Ware, Sharon Cheung, Pegah Butler, Sima Patel, Sofia Kouzinopolou, Lily Brown, Alyssia Robson, Sheila Butterly, Caroline Gulliver, Jenny Chaichian, Sarah West, Susanne Rutishauser, Vassiliki Spyropoulou-Caillaud, Melissa Samuel, Helena McGrail, Anusha Toniappa, Caitlynne Barlow, Lydia Parrington, Beth Long, Joanna Lockhart, Tory Bentley, Mhari Hindle, Maana Ruia, Alexandra Keith, Helena Lugli, Caroline Douglas, Rachael Bayfield, Rachel Tanner, Debbie Batchelor, Amanda Cameron, Deborah Howe.
In addition, I would like to thank the many other parents who have helped in the preparation for, organisation of and provided on-theday assistance at all our events throughout the year. Heather, Juliana and their team for the Senior Disco, The Christmas Fair Elves, The Year 9 Quiz Night team and the too-many-to-name parents who have helped out with Second hand Uniform Sales, Cake Sales and have volunteered in every capacity from selling tickets to running a stall or a bar, to carrying boxes of books.
Review of Activities
I am very grateful to all the Committee members who have worked tirelessly throughout 2019/20 to make this unusual year a success for FOPHS. Vanessa Robert, Alice Maughan, Pragna Patel, Sharon Kaye and Joanne Butter have dedicated a lot of their personal time to keep FOPHS running smoothly. Special thanks to Vanessa Robert for her incredible diligence and dedication on all matters of GDPR and the Class lists. Also, as this unprecedented year unfolded, further thanks to the committee for remaining available virtually and for all their positivity as FOPHS, like every other organisation, has faced unforeseen changes and challenges to its year.
Thanks also to the parent Reps for continuing to keep positive and available (to both FOPHS and their year group parents) during the challenges of lockdown and continuing to find the time for FOPHS. Between March and the end of the School Year many Reps arranged virtual coffee mornings and evening drinks for their year groups via Zoom.
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This year FOPHS maintained its philosophy for Friendship, Fundraising and Fun. Up until March FOPHS ran a wide range of wellorganised fundraising events which have enabled us to contribute to many projects that will benefit the pupils. The extras funded by FOPHS are appreciated across all age-groups and disciplines by the School and indeed by the parents and their daughters.
This year to raise money for the girls, FOPHS held the Year 7/8 Disco, The Christmas Fair, The Christmas Raffle, The Valentine Cake Sale, and, for parents, The Quiz Night.
In addition an illustrator and Junior School parent designed a limited edition Christmas Card for Putney High School which we sold at the Christmas Fair and the Junior School also created Tea Towels for each year group, with the pupils drawing their own self-portraits.
Sadly, from the beginning of March, all FOPHS events were cancelled including the Junior School Disco, Movie Nights, the Book Fair, and two Second-Hand Uniform Sales.
We are fortunate to have continued support from Hamptons International Estate Agents in Putney. Despite a slightly reduced donation due to their budget cuts, they were once again enthusiastic FOPHS supporters, attending the Christmas Fair and sending a team to take part at the Quiz. Our thanks to Harriet at the Putney Office for continuing to support us.
Our efforts to keep the parent community together in the time of Covid included FOPHS hosted virtual welcome coffee mornings and virtual evening gatherings via Zoom for each of the incoming Reception classes and each of the incoming Year 7 classes.
All new parents were invited to join these sessions which were held in July, just after their Let’s Get Started afternoons and before the end of the Summer term. We hope these provided as warm a welcome as is possible (via a screen) to the Putney parent community. Members of the FOPHS standing committee were also present in the sessions, plus the existing Reps in order to provide an informal overview and answers to any questions the parents had. The sessions were informal and enjoyable and well attended. Mrs Page-Roberts must be thanked for joining us at the start of every Reception session to provide an added welcome to Putney High Junior School.
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During lockdown FOPHS also created a short ‘Welcome to FOPHS’ video for school to use during their virtual Let’s Get Started Sessions. The video explained the role of FOPHS, provided examples of the events that we run, along with photos and our email address. We introduced our Friendship, Fundraising and Fun ethos and asked for anyone interested in joining the Rep teams to email us. As a result we received some new parent Rep volunteers from both Reception and Year 7 to join the incoming teams.
Event Summaries:
The Neon Glo Disco for Year 7/8 Disco was our first event of the year and a great success, raising £4,394 and, almost as importantly, giving the Year 7 and Year 8 pupils an evening to remember. Once again, the tickets sold out well in advance.
The Christmas Fair and Raffle raised £21,034 for FOPHS. The Christmas Fair Committee’s forward planning, dedication and enthusiasm was reflected in a fantastic festive afternoon.
Due to the building work taking place at School, there was no access to the cafeteria and so we created an outdoor food court. Thankfully the weather stayed dry and sunny. We received great feedback on all the food as chips and jacket potatoes were replaced with gourmet beef burgers and halloumi burgers. Especial thanks from FOPHS to Angelina and her entire family for creating and running this one-dayonly café.
We made good use of the Long Corridor and a new feature at the fair this year was Elfridges. Here the younger children could shop for their parents alone, emerging with gifts wrapped and tree-ready. The Grotto once again was magical and Last Man Standing as popular as ever.
The External Stalls provided fantastic shopping and all the year groups ran fabulous stalls from arts and crafts to tombolas to fairground games.
It was a wonderful afternoon for visitors to the fair but also for all the helpers and for the Putney High School families attending. In addition Year 7 pupils enjoyed being elves in the grotto and a number of pupils took part in musical recitals on the stage in the PAC.
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The Junior School Valentine’s Cake Sale was held in the scooter park after school on the afternoon before February half term. This format worked very well and the mountains of cookies, small cakes and brownies raised £481, despite some fleeting showers. Thanks to the strategic use of banqueting roll and Putney High School golf umbrellas none of the baked goods, nor helpers, suffered from soggy bottoms.
The Quiz Night was held on a Thursday evening for the first time and raised £5,874. Thanks to a particularly charismatic quiz master, and an efficient and welcoming Year 9 team the evening was a great success. And whilst the Senior School Teachers table emerged victorious yet again, Year 6 only came second by one point and celebrated as if they had won the whole thing.
The Junior School Movie Night, Junior School Book Fair, Junior School Disco and Second Hand Uniform Sales were all casualties of Covid and based on previous years would have collectively raised in the region of £8,000. While the balance of our accounts looks healthy at the end of this year, the coming year will undoubtedly present many fundraising challenges – indeed we have already had to cancel the Year 7/8 Disco and the Christmas Fair for 2020. FOPHS still plans to hold a Christmas Raffle and virtual Fair events to keep raising morale and funds in equal measure.
Pledges to the School
The school is always incredibly grateful for the continued support, of the parent community. All departments have expressed appreciation for the items and activities funded by FOPHS this year.
During 2019-2020, FOPHS pledged £30,105 to projects that the Committee considered would benefit the pupils and the school.
| £2,120 | Senior Student Science Outreach Project |
|---|---|
| £876 | MFL Theatre Productions |
| £780 | Senior & Junior Computing Exhibition |
| £3,481 | Advanced Composites Production Kit |
| £1,500 | PIE Talk Tracy Edwards |
| £1,030 | Year 6 Write Inspired |
| £785 | Science Garden Bed Planters |
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| £2439 | Biology Equipment |
|---|---|
| £1931 | Physics Equipment |
| £82 | Board Games |
| £590 | Chemistry Equipment |
| £2677 | KS3 Science Equipment |
| £9424 | Early Years Outside Play |
| £485 | Sixth Form Bed Planters |
| £1906 | Year 5 & 6 Dance Production |
Due to the diligence of the staff of acquiring some of this equipment under budget and the cancellation of an event, the school we able to release funds amounting to £2,625 back to FOPHS for which we are most grateful.
Engagement Sessions
All our scheduled Engagement Sessions both in the Junior and Senior Schools took place between November 2019 and March 2020. All year group Reps met with the relevant Senior Leadership Teams alongside a member of the FOPHS standing committee and these sessions were constructive, valuable and interesting for the parents and staff alike. Our thanks to the Reps for giving up their time and providing a much-valued channel of communication between their year group parents and Putney High School.
Old Uniform
We had just started sending our old style second hand school uniform to a selection of schools in Aiyepe, Nigeria and hope to resume when we are once again able to do so.
Second Hand Uniform Sales
We haven’t been able to hold a second hand uniform sale since March 2020, nor indeed has FOPHS been permitted to collect donations of second hand uniform at either the Senior or Junior School. There have been many queries from Putney High School Parents as to where donations can be dropped off and indeed to when we will be able to hold a Second Hand Uniform sale again. FOPHS are working with Putney High School to come up with a workable solution.
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The Standing Committee
The FOPHS Committee meetings took place in November and January as scheduled. Unfortunately the May meeting was cancelled due to Covid-19. The Standing Committee has continued to meet virtually via Zoom and the September 2020 AGM will be held virtually by Zoom on Monday 28[th] September 2020.
This year we are particularly welcoming new ideas for virtual social and fundraising events as we adjust to our new, and hopefully temporary, normal.
I would like to thank this year’s Standing Committee, year group reps and event organisers for all their help and for all that they have done and continue to do for FOPHS. It really is a team effort.
After two years as FOPHS Treasurer, Pragna Patel is standing down. We thank her for all her work for FOPHS and will miss her on the Standing Committee.
We look forward to welcoming Wendy Ward, a current Year 8 parent, to join us as her replacement.
We would also like to thank Caroline Bansal for acting as the Independent Examiner of our Accounts for the past two years.
In summary: During 2019/20 we raised £ 40,727 in additional funds, and the FOPHS Committee pledged £30,105 to support a range of school projects. During the year payments totaling £16,527 were made to the school in respect of historic and current year pledges. At the year-end FOPHS had funds of £64,500 of which £16,857 represented amounts pledged but not yet claimed by the school, leaving an available balance of £47,643 at the start of the new financial year.
Jane Day Chair
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