A key element of a GST education is that in our family of schools all students have access to hundreds of free clubs and activities every week: chess; ballroom dancing; mandolin; coding; violin; human rights clubs; philosophy; young Rotarians; trampolining; debating; choirs; a wide range of sports…the list is impressive.

We also work hard to inspire, provoke and engage all our students by arranging free visits to parks, theatres, art galleries and concerts, sports venues and places of historical and cultural interest as well as bringing guest speakers and performers into schools: scientists, musicians, historians and as broad a range of perspectives on life and conflicting views as we can source.

The opportunities provided at school and at home mean that many pupils develop really strong interests to which they devote a lot of time and energy beyond the curriculum. At GST we want to support students to progress in their chosen interests, to grow their skills and develop their talents to the full. That costs money.

There is never enough money and making fundraising part of what we do is a given for schools and Trusts in these times of very reduced public funding. The key consideration is what we raise funds for so that relatively small sums have major impact on our students. Last year was a very successful one. We raised over £11,000 – half of which was donated to our nominated charity of 2016/17 – the NSPCC. The remainder was used to establish a central Sports and Arts Fund (SAF).