Why support Forest Hill School?

Forest Hill School’s driving ambition is to be one of the highest-achieving community comprehensive schools in London, giving all students the opportunity to reach and exceed their potential, regardless of background.

By offering a broad and good-quality curriculum, an excellent range of extracurricular activities and resources and an environment featuring well-maintained facilities and equipment, students are encouraged to become their best selves, both academically and as positive citizens that contribute to their communities and society overall.

Over the years, the funding for schools that comes from central government has decreased in real terms, so whilst we have funding for the core purpose of education there is very little remaining to enhance or improve school facilities or to offer additional support for those boys who would benefit from help with other aspects of school life, such as school meals, uniform, extracurricular activities or trips. 

Forest Hill School was 65 years old in 2021 and whilst we are proud of our history and all that we have achieved so far, we continually look towards the future. 

Why do we need to fundraise?

Our annual operating costs are funded through central government and this covers our core purpose, but we have an expensive PFI building and retained estate (art block and sports centre), which needs to be maintained. If we want to invest in our buildings and technology, or to continue to enrich the curriculum, we have to look for additional outside sources to help, for example, letting the school facilities out during the evenings, weekends and the holidays whenever possible.

Additional fundraising enables us to make improvements to our school, and provide opportunities for our students, that would not be possible otherwise.

How do we fundraise?

There are a number of fundraising channels for Forest Hill School including those listed below. If you are a parent/carer who would like to make a regular donation to school funds, a member of the local community who would like to help at one of our fundraising events, or a business that would like to sponsor a team or event at our school, please find out more below.

Should you require further information, please email our Director of Strategy and Resources: s.davies@foresthillschool.co.uk

Regular Giving

Regular donations make a lasting impact on our school and our students, whether it is £5, £20, or £100 a month. The focus is on the short-term urgent needs of the school, for example, buying a new minibus or playground canopy, and improving our outside spaces, as well as funding to support our more financially disadvantaged students (e.g. uniform, after school activities and participation in school trips).

If you are able to support the school by making a regular financial contribution – or a one-off payment – it would be much appreciated and will directly benefit the students. Any contribution is entirely voluntary, even £5 per month from those who can afford it, would make a huge difference.

The process is really simple. Just click on the box at the right-hand side of this page to indicate how much you can afford to donate on a monthly, quarterly, or annual basis, and follow the steps from there.

Thank you for your support.

Minor Works Capital Grants 

All locally maintained schools are entitled to apply for local authority grants for minor capital works. Most recently we were successful in receiving £25,000 which was 50% of the costs towards fixing a leaking roof in the Art block.  

Capital Campaigns

These fund major building work or refurbishments and are ‘one-off’ targeted Campaigns for a specific large-scale development. In the future, we would like to fund a refurbishment of one of our playgrounds to create a 3G Astro Turf.

Friends of Forest Hill

The Friends of Forest Hill is the school’s Parent Teacher Association (PTA). It is run by parent and carer volunteers from across the year groups who work closely with school staff to raise funds and support events for the school and school community. Its main aim is to achieve an active and vibrant supporting group for the benefit of all Forest Hill School students. 

Click here for further information.

Volunteering 

Many alumni, parents and friends would prefer to donate time instead of funds. In the past they have participated in many aspects of school life such as careers activities and speaker programmes; mentoring; and helping at school events.

As suggested at one of our regular Parent Forums, we are building a database of parents/carers who are willing to volunteer at Forest Hill School.

If you feel that you could support us in some way, please provide your details via this form: https://forms.office.com/e/KuUc9Dwhzn

If you would like to know more please email our Director of Strategy and Resources: s.davies@foresthillschool.co.uk

The Giving Machine

You can now find Forest Hill School on TheGivingMachine, a great fundraising site that lets you raise donations for the school whenever you shop online. It’s easy to use and doesn’t cost you (or us) a penny!

TheGivingMachine is a fundraising charity setup to help other charitable causes raise money online. By signing up and shopping online via TheGivingMachine you will generate a free cash donation for us. With over 2,200 of your favourite retailers, including Ebay, M&S, Tui, Sainsbury, John Lewis & Partners and Waitrose & Partners, you are bound to find what you need and generate a donation.

To start raising free donations go to https://shopandgive.thegivingmachine.co.uk/causes/forest-hill-school-fund-raising/ and join – it’s that easy.

To make sure you never miss a donation download the free Shop&Give mobile app and the free desktop reminder app https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/shop-and-give/

Plus, click the Daily Bonus Donation button to raise a free donation every day – no purchase necessary! Find out more here https://www.thegivingmachine.co.uk/news/view/daily-bonus-donation/

Or donate directly to Forest Hill School via the Donate Now button on https://shopandgive.thegivingmachine.co.uk/causes/forest-hill-school-fund-raising/ 

Thank you for your support.