Each week when I read the newsletter I am impressed by the array of wonderful musical, sporting, academic and enrichment events that regularly take place at our school which are a real cause for celebration. Many of the ac-tivities and events are run by volunteers and make a significant difference to the quality of education that our girls receive. Only last week our Parents’ Association ran a very successful Quiz Night and raised almost £2000 for our school. Thank you to everyone who helped in any way to make this event such a success.
A small handful of parent volunteers have really made an enormous impact as many of you are already aware. Our Christmas Fayre, a PA event, raised a staggering amount towards our Courtyard Café project and along with funds raised via the Shop for Challoner’s Scheme, we are now well on the way to seeing our new outdoor café and learning space come to fruition. The Court-yard Café will give a fresh, modern look to a rather neglected area of the school and provide valuable facilities for our girls. We are also very grateful to another of our parent volunteers, Mrs Dina Lockwood, a local architect, who has spent time with staff and pupils drafting plans and drawings to give the space somewhere where the girls will really want to be and a ‘designed’ look and feel.
I am in no doubt that you will agree that Dr Challoner’s High is an exceptional school with real heart and soul and is on a very exciting journey. However, excellence can be built upon and we have the scope to extend our aspirations further to meet the dynamic changes that are constantly taking place in the education environment. Even in financially constrained times, standing still is clearly not an option for us.
We have embarked upon some important work to help us understand what all of our community believes makes our school the success it is and what we should focus upon in the future.
As part of this exercise we have invited a cross-section of students, staff, parents and governors to participate in a series of work-shops on our ‘vision and values’ and these have begun this week. ‘Brand development’ is something that is very often used in the business world but the key messages can be of great value to our school and can help all of us to articulate what our school really stands for. It is vital for the success of our decision-making process and for all of our communications. I have contemplated on many occasions what Dr Challoner’s High School would look like if it were a product that I could buy in Tesco or Sainsbury’s and what would be its key ingredients or components and how should we package it? One thing that is for certain, it would be in the ‘Finest’ or ‘Taste the Difference’ range on the shelves!
Our work is being facilitated by two of our parents, Anna Eggleton and Charlotte Vicary. They both have extensive experience of marketing and brand development and we are very grateful for their expertise and also for volunteering to give up their valuable time.
We will share the outcomes from this exciting work in the near future- so watch this space!
Caroline Russell
Assistant Head
