Brighton Girls GDST has always been an open, socially engaged school. Our tradition in fundraising, charitable work and community focus is a key aspect of our school’s ethos.
All students are encouraged to support this and develop a strong spirit of public service. From Early Years right through to Sixth Form, girls wholeheartedly embrace the fundraising for a wide range of charities. This is largely done through our Charity “Guild” Team, with Guild Representatives in every year group actively fundraising throughout the year for their nominated causes.
We love being at the heart of our local community and we enthusiastically run and support a number of events. These include the Brighton Marathon where we manage a water station, our long-running Christmas Community Tea for local Senior Citizens families and friends, involvement in the St Ann’s Well Gardens Festival, choir singing in Churchill Square and collecting Christmas donations for the Brighton homeless.
In the past we have partnered with Brighton Mini Mile Races, making it possible for children across the city to take part in this important community sports event for free. We are a long-standing venue for the Young Readers programme of Brighton Festival and sponsor of Brighton Festival Children’s Parade, supporting the creativity of children across Brighton and Hove.
We strongly believe the more you give, the more you receive. This is central to the ethos of the school and the GDST. Throughout each year we students select varied charities to support in creative ways (e.g. a sponsored Zumbathon for Lepra). Below are details of onHand, is an exciting community initiative Brighton Girls was the pilot school for and that has since appeared on Dragon’s Den.
Charities
onHand
Brighton Girls is the first school to pilot onHand, an innovative volunteering app which pairs those in need with those who want to help.
onHand allows us to support our local community with activities such as food shopping for vulnerable people, befriending phone calls, dog walking, gardening and lots more. By accepting missions to help locally, and making pledges that reduce our carbon footprint, we are increasing our social impact as well as our own wellbeing.
For every ten missions a tree is planted in our Brighton Girls forest and we planted 214 trees in just the first 2 weeks of volunteering! The main charities to benefit in our first few weeks of activity have been The Salvation Army, RSPB, British Heart Foundation and Surfers Against Sewage.
Charities
Oasis Project
We have partnered up with Oasis, a non-profit that helps women and families affected by drugs and alcohol in Brighton and Hove. Oasis ran a session for Y10s and Y12s, discussing the work that they do in Brighton, and guided students on how to support someone who is dealing with drug or substance abuse. This session helped to break down students’ preconceived ideas of what someone struggling with alcohol or substance abuse would look like and be like. During our Wellbeing Week in March, students wore non-school uniforms and contributed a donation of £5 towards the Oasis Project.
Dance
One example of our community collaboration is our work with Penny & Jules Youth Dance which was launched in 2014. PJYD works with young dancers (aged 14 to 19) from all around the South East.
Our students have successfully auditioned and featured in performances at Brighton Fringe, National U.Dance Festival, HOSTED at The Old Market in Hove and many more.
Brighton Girls is also home to Brighton Gymnastics and Brighton Bees Netball, among others.
Brighton Gymnastics
Brighton Girls is the home of Brighton Gymnastics Club – which runs throughout the year in our Sports Hall on our Montpelier Road site.
Brighton Bees
Brighton Bees provides opportunities for netball players at all levels, from Year 4 up to Year 9. We train every Monday evening and compete in local leagues and tournaments. Everyone is welcome from the Brighton community.
