Public Benefit

Purpose, Aims and Objectives

The charity’s objectives, as set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association, are the advancement of education for the benefit of the public by the provision and conduct of a day school for boys and girls in or near the London Borough of Lewisham and, in so far as it is ancillary to the advancement of education, such other purposes for the benefit of the local community as shall be exclusively charitable. Within these objects, the School’s aim is to provide a first class independent education by delivering strong academic tuition and developing wider sporting, artistic and social skills in its pupils. This is intended to provide an environment where each pupil can develop and fulfil his or her potential and in so doing develop self confidence which will inculcate a desire to contribute to the wider community.  It achieves this aim by:

• promoting excellence in all areas, and developing each pupil’s abilities and character to the full;
• providing academic teaching and fostering learning and scholarship of the highest quality, together with a wide range of cultural, sporting and extra-curricular activities;
• promoting a purposeful and disciplined atmosphere, in which boys and girls are encouraged to achieve their full potential, staff can find vocational fulfilment in their careers, and all can use their talents for the greater good of our community and for society as a whole;
• nurturing an awareness of spiritual and moral values;
• recognising that each member of the School community is unique, with talents to develop and a contribution to make.

The School also seeks to maintain a population of children from a variety of backgrounds. It will admit pupils not solely on academic ability but with a range of qualities, abilities and talents, who can make a real contribution to the success and welfare of the School in many different ways. 

 

The objectives and policies of the Charity have been reviewed and restated by the Trustee in the light of the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit.

The main beneficiaries of the Charity’s work are girls and boys, aged 3 to 18 attending its schools. Other children in the area are beneficiaries of Easter and summer holiday summer schools and outreach teaching in Africa, as well as occasional lectures and exhibitions in co-operation with other local schools.

The Trustee continuously keeps under review the public benefit that the School provides. The Board of Governors held a special meeting on 11 March 2008 to consider the Charity Commission’s general guidance on Public Benefit and later consultation documents as a preliminary to developing a formal Public Benefit Strategy for the School.

Public Benefit must be measured in comparison with the Charity’s objective of providing a school for girls and boys. The Trustees have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance and have concluded that its main beneficiaries are the 1046 or so children who receive an education at the School. As a fee charging charity, the Trustee also has a duty to ensure that the beneficiaries are from a sufficiently broad sector of the public so that that access to benefits is not unreasonably restricted through ability to pay and that the poor are not excluded. The excellent education provided to the School’s pupils, including those who enjoy the benefit of means tested bursaries,is therefore central to its task of delivering public benefit.

The Trustee has considered the operation of the School and does not consider that there is any detriment resulting from its activities that should be offset against the benefit it provides.

 

 

Advancing Education

 

In the academic year 2008/2009 the School educated some 1040 pupils (1046 in 2007/2008).

Standards of education are reviewed against national benchmarks and league tables which show the School to be regularly in the upper half of the independent schools league tables measured by performance in public examinations. A report on an inspection of Colfe’s School by the Independent Schools Inspectorate in November 2006 concluded that:

 

    ‘The school is very largely successful in meeting its aims.  High standards are set and achieved in very many areas of school life in its pursuit of excellence.  Academic attainment is good, and good and improving results are being achieved at both GCSE and A level. Achievement is also notable in sport and in creative areas.  The school is particularly successful in developing pupils’ character and confidence, in the strength of its pastoral support for each pupil, and in the growing realization of his or her talents and abilities.  Relationships between pupils and between pupils and staff are excellent; a distinctive feature being the responsibility taken by older pupils for the welfare of younger ones.  The school has a good range of extra-curricular activities and visits outside the school and abroad.  A significant factor in all this is the collective quality and commitment of staff to the welfare and best development of the pupils.’

 

Senior School  Excellent examination results at A level in June 2008 set a new school record of 80% A/B grades. GCSE results were 98% A-C with 51% A*/A grades. The School was also largely successful in meeting its objectives for the 2007/08 academic year. The proportion of A/B grades at A level rose significantly and, although the proportion of A*/A grades at GCSE was consistent with the previous year, the proportion of A* grades alone rose markedly to 20% of the GCSE results

 

Rugby, football (soccer), hockey and netball teams continue to perform at a high level, making good progress in regional and national competitions, as well as in traditional fixtures whilst the Arts remain high profile. Recent productions of Oliver! and Noises Off! sold out for each performance. The profile of the Music department has also been maintained with the continued success of the new Swing Band along with the innovation of short Prom type concerts to provide performance opportunities for all.

 

The Senior School continues to build upon its success in recruiting pupils from a wide range of feeder schools. Senior members of staff, including the Headmaster, regularly visited primary schools in the poorer London boroughs to encourage applications from suitably qualified bursary candidates. A close relationship with one such primary school has been established. Two pupils from that school were enrolled on Bursaries with full fee remission from September 2008.

 

It is anticipated that a mutually beneficial partnership with an 11-16 comprehensive school in the London Borough of Lewisham (more in next para.) will generate more applications from suitably qualified bursary candidates. It is envisaged further that the partnership will bring strength and depth to our engagement with Lewisham, in accordance with our charitable purpose.

 

Prep & Pre-Prep Schools   Excellent results in the SATS for 2008 were recorded with 100% achieving Level 4 in English, maths and science while 90% achieved Level 5 in science; 79% level 5 in maths and 50% level 5 in English.  Our Prep School pupils enjoyed unprecedented success in their senior school entrance exams with more receiving scholarships than ever before; 15 prep pupils occupied the first 30 positions out of over 300 candidates.

 

Our Year 6 netball girls have been outstanding, building on their unbeaten run throughout year 5 they dominated all local opposition winning the local league trophy.  They progressed to the IAPS National finals held at Roedean School and finished in third position beating a very strong Brighton College in the play off. Rugby has flourished again this year with the Year 6 boys retaining the prestigious St Dunstan’s Tournament trophy. A number of boys represented their district or county at football and cricket and some also qualified for the IAPS national swimming finals. The Arts has a very good profile in the Prep School with excellent productions of the Snow Queen, Music is Music is Music, Giddy Goat, Macbeth and the Baby King - all being resounding successes in the Prep and Pre-Prep and Nursery. 

 

 

Making the benefits accessible to all boys and girls in the Lewisham Area

 

The Trustee has taken steps to generate additional income for bursaries and view bursaries and scholarships as an important means of helping children from families who would otherwise not be able to afford the fees to access the education we offer. As a matter of policy, Colfe’s School provides access to children from less affluent backgrounds.  Bursaries are available to candidates who would otherwise be unable to attend the school due to poverty or relative poverty, provided that such candidates pass the entrance examination and demonstrate a high level of academic potential. The awards range from 10% to 100% remission of fees. Scholarships are awarded on the basis of the individual’s educational and extra-curricular potential, subject to any conditions imposed by the donor and are usually awarded as a fixed remission amount (approximately 10% to 50%) and can be supplemented further by a bursary.

 

During the 2007/08 academic year, Colfe’s School provided means tested bursaries to 63 children to the value of £238,252. Of these, 16 pupils received a bursary of 50% or more. Colfe’s also provided scholarships to pupils from all backgrounds to the value of £565,000 (including £7,000 for Exhibitions). Together, these remissions represent just over 7.39% of gross fee income. It is important to note that a significant number of pupils who benefit from academic scholarships would otherwise be prevented from attending the school for financial reasons. In the light of the requirements of recent legislation, and for the avoidance of confusion, the aspiration is that such scholarships awarded in future should be designated as means-tested bursaries, rather than scholarships. A limited number of non-means tested scholarships will continue to be awarded each year. In such circumstances, as is currently the case, parents have the option of taking an honorary scholarship to release additional money for the bursary fund.

 
The Trustee has established a subsidiary, Colfe’s Educational Foundation, to assist it with building successful relationships with alumni, parents and former parents that may lead to financial support. The Foundation passed £55,000 of donations to the School in 2007/08, primarily to be used as bursaries for less affluent families. The School also makes structured educational provision available to local children from other schools. Initiatives this year include:

·         Starting an evening etching course at the School which enables us to build additional links with the local community and current parents as well as enriching our art and design curriculum. 

·         Providing support to the Northbrook family of schools (six local secondary and primary state schools in our local area) primarily to teach swimming (for children who may never have used a pool before) and to introduce local children to a wide range of sports. For many, this was a life-changing experience and opened their eyes to more educational and life experiences. Youth apprentice sports students from Greenwich provided support which helped them understand better the needs of the local community.

·         Providing free access to local groups including: Baring School Scout Group; Bromley Sea cadets; St Thomas More School; Greenwich Basketball Club; Brindishe Lewisham Sports Partnership; Ravensbourne College OCFC and St Christopher’s Hospice. Local primary schools are also allowed free use of the sports fields for annual sports days.

·         Running a gymnastics club for local children helped by trainee teachers from Greenwich University who are studying for their PGCE.

·         Hiring out the facilities to Camp Beaumont during the Easter and summer holidays to provide a holiday club for up to 200 local children.

·         Advertising facilities for hire to a range of clubs, along with the use of a school mini-bus; many groups are charged a special community rate to ensure that access to the School site is encouraged.

 

In addition, the School is about to embark on an exciting partnership with Catford High School, an 11-16 comprehensive school located in Bellingham, the poorest ward of the borough of Lewisham. Within the context of this partnership Colfe’s will provide educational support and expertise through governance.  As many as ten fully-funded or assisted places in the Colfe’s Sixth Form will be available for suitably qualified Catford High pupils who wish to proceed to A level study.

 

All of this work with pupils from local State schools and the community not only benefits them directly, but provides essential contact with Head Teachers and parents of less well off families that may encourage successful application for entry to the School with bursary support.

 

Indirect Public Benefit

 

The school benefits indirectly its pupils and potential pupils in a number of distinctive ways:

• Local schools’ cricket/football matches are often held at the School’s playing fields.
• Other sports facilities are used by a variety of local youth/school groups.
• The main Sports Hall is used to run a Cricket Academy to provide cricket coaching and courses for young players from around the area.
• Local schools use the School’s playing fields for Sports Days.

There is, of course, benefit to the public which is a direct consequence of delivering education: local old boys visit the School and maintain important connections; entertainment and hospitality is offered by pupils of the school during their community service activities; local residents are free to enjoy concerts and plays and the very successful swing band, and pupils raise funds for charities. All of this should be seen in the context that schools, as a generality, are expected to support their local population while fulfilling their role of providing education for young people.

Furthermore, the country as a whole benefits from Colfe’s School creating high calibre candidates for university and Further Education in a wide range of subjects and also from its work to deliver the finest education possible. The school also offers placements for trainee teachers and employs and inducts them in the period following their formal qualification and the School is about to embark on a scheme to employ new and mature graduates and train them as teachers at the School’s expense.

Although the saving to the public purse of an estimated £5.7m in the past year through our education of 1046 girls and boys does not count as ‘Public Benefit’, it is undeniable that the funding made available by the Department for Children, Schools and Families to maintained schools can, as a result of the saving, go that much further.

 

 

Serving the Local Community

 

In addition to its educational work, it remains an objective for Colfe’s School to be a good neighbour to the citizens of Lewisham and to play an active role in the local community. To this extent, the School has established links with the Bradfield Boys Club which was established in 1890, by the Bradfield College Home Mission working within the Parish of St. Chrysostom in Peckham. The club currently provides a varied programme of evening activities from indoor football, basketball, badminton, table tennis and pool to mixing and rapping workshops and has now set up, as a result of local demand, an arts programme for which Colfe’s will provide support with effect from September 2008 through the release of the Head of Art from timetable for one full day each week. She will establish a self-sustaining arts programme within the club and introduce a series of workshops to build the young peoples’ confidence with a range of media and encourage a creative and personal response to art and design so that they can develop their potential in this area of work.

 

The School has also forged links with Demelza House Children’s Hospice in Kent and has now placed it on our voluntary service programme of Wednesday afternoon Sixth Form activities to provide help with the sick children and help out with other activities such as gardening, painting and decorating and making teas and coffees etc. This work not only aids the valuable work of Demelza House but also provides important community appreciation to the Sixth Formers.

 

Pupils and Staff working in the local community  One member of staff is the Leader of the Conservative Group on Greenwich Council and also a Councillor for Eltham North. As such, he has campaigned for a wide variety of community educational issues such as local funding for schools and opposing the closure of educational amenities (e.g. libraries). He also sits on and advises a variety of local boards all of which help the community, such as Eltham United Charities; Safer Neighbourhood Panel for Eltham North and Woodland Farm Trust in Shooters Hill.  Other members of staff have run local cub/scout groups whilst another was involved with Hayes Cricket Club and organised a local league for girls at U13 and U15 level. Another member of staff provided A Level Latin tuition, at no charge, to a girl from a local school which may pave the way for closer links between the two schools in Classics. The School also ran a cricket academy for local (as well as Colfe’s) children who were invited to make use of the services of the ex-professional school coach as well as the School’s facilities. 

The School PAFA also organised a range of events to raise money for charities such as McMillan Cancer research; Breast Cancer; Doctor Barnardo’s and Demelza House Hospice whilst their Summer Ball helped to raise awareness and funds for meningitis and cancer. 

 

Serving the International Community

 

Colfe’s School has a partnership with Kotu Senior Secondary School in The Gambia and, at present, three of the four Trustees of the related charity are members of staff. The objective of the partnership is to further the education of current and former pupils of Kotu Senior Secondary School through assistance with the provision and maintenance of school facilities, the provision of books and educational equipment, sponsorship of individual students and such other means as the Trustees determine. In the past, Colfe’s has raised £36,000 for the School, donated computers and built, financed and furnished the ‘Colfe’s al-Hassan Library’.

 

Last year, thirty-six Colfe’s pupils and six staff visited Kotu School in December 2007 and financed and constructed a multi-purpose sports surface at the cost of £11,000. Future work is aimed at clearing the School’s debt to local carpenters for library furniture, replacing a boys’ toilet block, extending paths and plant beds throughout the school, refurbishing existing classrooms and general painting and decorating. In the future, apart from more fund-raising, it is hoped to build a new assembly hall and computer facility as well as carry out further refurbishment work.  The partnership entails a wide range of further ‘international’ benefits in the form of employment provided by our projects and personal help given by participants on our visits to Gambian families (for example, paying for children’s education).