Community Outreach & Charities
Community Outreach
As a school, we are extremely proud of our community outreach programme. We aim to develop positive and strong relationships between our school and the communities that we live in by working with our local primary schools and community groups. We aim to develop deeper relationships and thus creating community connections to shape our local area and nurture goodwill.
We are delighted to be able to host different events here at Hoe Bridge and offer both our facilities and specialist staff to various local groups. Recently, we have developed our outreach programme throughout the Woking area with our Science, Music, Sports and English departments organising events for local primary school children. These events have ranged from design challenges, Poetry Battles, music workshops and various sports events. One of the main groups we have worked with over the past two years is the WASPs group (Woking Area Sports for Primary Schools) which is an organisation for the promotion of sport in Primary Schools in or around Woking. We were delighted to have hosted orienteering, cross country and netball events recently and giving these schools a suitable and quality environment in which to compete.
As our Senior School develops, many more outreach opportunities will become available that benefit our school, our pupils and the local community. To talk to us about future partnership opportunities, please email dominiclowry@hoebridgeschool.co.uk.
Charities
As a school, we have supported many charities over the years. Each year the pupils choose two main charities to support and to date, we have raised over £180,000 for our charities, something that the girls and boys are very proud of!
In 2023 - 2024, our children have voted to support Disability Challengers and Wave Wrangler.
''Challengers is a charity that gives disabled children and young people the opportunity to play, have fun, and make friends in a safe and supportive environment. Aside from being fun, play is essential for a child’s cognitive, physical, social, and mental wellbeing and development. Through play, children learn to build confidence, self-esteem, creativity, and how to interact with others. Sadly too many disabled young people miss out on play every day. There are many barriers stopping disabled children from playing – from physical impairments and a lack of accessible play facilities, to a time, money and support. That’s where Challengers comes in…we remove these barriers by providing truly inclusive play and leisure that everyone can enjoy and join in with, no matter how complex their needs are. Young people can come to our Pre-school, Play and Youth schemes and experience the same fun and friendship as their non-disabled peers, with activities adapted to suit their unique individual needs. We have been passionate champions of inclusion since the charity was established in 1979, and more than 40 years on, Challengers has grown to provide smiles and laughter to thousands of disabled children and young people''
Challengers Home - Challengers (disability-challengers.org)
''Following 5 years of being in and out of hospitals trying to maintain a regular heart rhythm, Elliot became the recipient of a (Medtronic) CRT-P device in February 2020. In November 2014 when he woke with a racing pulse (perhaps 200 bpm or higher). Thinking nothing of it he headed to the office for a regular day – luckily his colleagues (one happened to be his father) persuaded him to contact his GP, whom quickly sent him to A+E. After what was to be the first of many hours hooked up to a 10 lead ECG, an abnormal wave was observed on the readout: a delta wave. This indication of an accessory pathway (a shortcut, circumventing the AV-node) lead to a tentative diagnosis of Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome. However, following an electrophysiological examination, Elliot was also diagnosed with paroxysmal atrial fibrillation, in conjunction causing a far larger threat than either in isolation. This experience of fully “living” the frustrations that go hand in hand with an irregular heartbeat, including multiple cardioversions has led Elliot to found Wave Wrangler; a platform for anyone living with an arrhythmia to share stories and experiences, as well as raise and carefully distribute funds to assist charities, companies and individuals who are also in a position to support.
Elliot will be rowing 5000km solo and unsupported across the Atlantic as part of the World’s Toughest Row, proving that despite having an implanted pace-making device, anything is possible!''