Our aim is to develop empathetic, compassionate and caring young people.

Learning to be givers can shape children’s values and provides opportunities to develop kindness, a virtue that improves lives.

We hope that through experience and understanding, children at OBH will develop an awareness and recognition of local, national and global needs and the difference that they can make.

THE MAKING A DIFFERENCE PROGRAMME

The school-wide ‘Making a Difference’ programme incorporates a range of elements including volunteering, community involvement, partnerships, fundraising, raising awareness and concern for the environment.

Initiatives include the following:

Fundraising

As part of the programme the School usually supports one local or national charity and one international charity every academic year. One of these organisations will always be child related. The children nominate and vote for the charities that they want to support.

The children then undertake a range of fundraising activities throughout the year. These have included:

  • The popular annual fancy dress fun run which raised over £2,000 in 2018.
  • Year 7 £10 Challenge. The children made a range of items from bread boards to bracelets and sold them at a local Agricultural Show. They raised nearly £400.
  • Cake sales and Coffee Mornings.
  • Dress down days.

In the last two years the charities we have supported include:

For Daisy and DIPG Brain Cancer Research

WaterAid (Runner up as WaterAid’s School of the Year 2018)

Children in Need

Macmillan Cancer Research

The British Legion

The Oscar Foundation

Suffolk Community Foundation

Raising Awareness

Presentations and talks by external speakers are used to build understanding and awareness of need amongst the pupil body. In addition, PSHE lessons are used to discuss issues and themes in more depth.

Practical activities are planned to give direct experience such as rough sleeping and how to guide a blind person.

Volunteering

Children are encouraged to undertake volunteering roles both within and outside of school.

The Year 8 Leavers Programme includes a volunteering project every year. In 2018 the Leavers spent a day with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust helping with woodland management. They also undertook a beach clean of Aldeburgh Beach in conjunction with the Marine Conservation Society. They collected eight large bags of rubbish and received considerable praise from local residents.

Members of the Upper School regularly spend time with younger pupils supporting reading and helping with specific tasks.

Community Involvement

The School strives to build excellent relationships with the local community.

The whole school attends Thorpe Morieux parish church fortnightly. A group of children serve breakfast after church n Rattlesden once a month.

The Annual Brettenham Village Fireworks Display and Summer Fete are held in the grounds of the School. The Brettenham Village Cricket Club is also to be found within the grounds.

During the Summer, the School’s outdoor swimming pool is used by a local swimming club.

Our musicians regularly provide entertainment to a pensioners lunch club in Stowmarket and children from the Pre Prep visit local care homes at Christmas to sing carols with the residents.

Partnerships

OBH works alongside other organisations to maximise impact.

Recently the School worked with Sal’s Shoes, a charity which distributes nearly new shoes to children across the world who walk barefoot every day. The School community collected over 180 pairs of shoes for the charity. We have also supported the Lion’s Clubs Recycle for Sight Project by collecting over 30 pairs of spectacles.

Every year we support the Christmas shoe box collection for TEECH. The boxes are then distributed to children in Eastern Europe.

Environmental Impact

Examples of where OBH seeks to reduce its environmental impact include:

A biomass boiler for heating and hot water, paper and toner recycling bins, clothes recycling bank on site, Second hand Uniform Shop and the switching off of lights.

Year 8 Scholars reviewed the School’s carbon footprint in 2017 and presented their findings to the Governors.