By Graeme Lawrie MBE, Partnerships Director at ACS International Schools
The Government’s actions surrounding VAT and independent school fees has sparked widespread debate and a split of opinions amongst many. As a direct fallout, for many, partnerships and charitable endeavours have been an area for review.
Across the country, there are hundreds of Partnership Leads, employed by independent schools or independent school groups to ensure that our impact stretches far beyond our metaphorical school walls. As an established Partnerships Lead, I am now being contacted by growing numbers of fellow Partnership Leads on a daily basis who are concerned as economic realities have seen their funding significantly reduced, or even pulled altogether.
I understand that, regardless of the cross-sector tightening of the belt, school decision makers have a responsibility to ensure that their own students are provided with the best possible learning experience. But by scaling back funding for partnerships and charitable endeavours, we risk thousands of less-advantaged students from across the country not having access to transformative learning experiences.
Amidst these challenging circumstances that we find ourselves in, it’s important for us to reflect upon the purpose, power and potential future of partnerships.
Purpose
I am a firm believer that a school is a part of a community, and its role within that community should be to advance education for all school age children. This includes current students, as well as other members of its local and global communities. At ACS International Schools, we strive to provide opportunities for children to access enriching educational opportunities that would otherwise not been available to them.
In the past five years alone, we have offered over two million hours of opportunities to state school partner children and over 130,000 hours of high calibre teacher training, all free of charge. We see it as our duty to go beyond words and deliver action, and the positive impact that these opportunities have had on both our partner state-schools and our schools simply cannot be overstated. By working together with our partner schools as a collective and combining our resources, our entire community benefits.
Partnerships
Locally, students regularly have access to our leading facilities to participate in sports and activity days, attend our forest schools, take part in multi-school learning activities and more. In 2020, we hosted our first, and now annual, STEAM event. This sees 10,000 students join us at Thorpe Park for a day of learning facilitated by the likes of the Royal Air Force and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, before they enjoy the best rides that the theme park has to offer.
Internationally, we have multiple long-term community school projects in a number of countries, which offers opportunities for our students to connect with their contemporaries from backgrounds different from their own; many students say the experience is lifechanging.
Progress
Despite the economic challenges presented in these post VAT times, at ACS International Schools, we will always find a way to ensure that our partnerships support continues. We will put in the extra hours, we will find additional sponsors, and we will make sure we continue to deliver impactful learning experiences.
Yes, the future is looking harder than it ever has been before. But if all schools with the means to provide transformative educational experiences for students from less privileged backgrounds continue to play their part, the wider community and, ultimately, education as a whole, will benefit.
Categories: ACS International School Egham School News
