The Enhancing Opportunities Annual Fund aims to raise money for educational activities and items of equipment that provide the best possible opportunities for pupils during their time at Withington. The projects we fundraise for are identified by pupils and members of staff and promise to further learning opportunities and enhance the school experience for all our pupils.

Four projects were chosen for the Enhancing Opportunities Annual Fund in the 2015-16 school year. Money was raised through generous regular and single donations from parents, alumnae and other members of the Withington community. As a result of their generosity, we raised enough money to fund each of the Enhancing Opportunities Annual Fund projects, which you can find out more about below. All of the following items have now been purchased and installed in school where they are being used and enjoyed by the pupils.

The Annual Fund Projects

A New Kiln in Art 

The Annual Fund also provided a new kiln for the Art Department, so that they can continue to offer this wonderful three-dimensional medium as a way for the girls to sculpt superb art work. This arrived at school during the summer holidays.

Head of Art Ruth Fildes said: “The Art Department are thrilled to have a brand-new kiln for the start of the new academic year and we would like to thank everyone who has made this possible. We use the kiln a huge amount in Art during the year and girls from the Junior School right the way through to the Upper Sixth benefit from this fantastic piece of equipment. The work they produce ranges from small and delicate decorations to large-scale sculptures, such as the life-sized ‘busts’ created during Sixth Form life-drawing classes. The girls are always so excited when they use clay and it is such a valuable and challenging medium to use in Art. We are very much looking forward to exploiting the possibilities of our new kiln in the upcoming academic year!”

Preserving Withington’s Heritage

The help of the Annual Fund has enabled our School Archivist to professionally digitise our historical newsletters from 1903 to 2000. This will preserve valuable information for future generations and will provide a useful resource for historical research. Our Archivist has also acquired two display cases to present delicate heritage material such as hand-written manuscripts, reports, uniforms and photographs in a prominent place within school.

Archivist Hannah Brown commented: “Thank you for the investment into our archive programme. The Annual Fund has made two fantastic opportunities to develop our resources possible. These new resources have already proved invaluable in the research and accessibility of our heritage collection. The Annual Fund really has aided the development and understanding of our archive collection within school and beyond. The digitised newsletters and the display cabinet will play a key role in the Archive and Museums Studies course on the Year 13 Enrichment programme this academic year. I am very grateful for the support and enthusiasm from all donors.”

Two New Lever Harps for Music 

Withington’s thriving Harp Department originated with the purchase of the first lever harp by the PTA in 2010. This was followed by the acquisition of a pedal harp as a result of donations to the 2012 Annual Fund. Today, numbers of pupils wishing to learn this beautiful instrument are continually increasing and the standard of our harpists is ever rising. The Music Department are now able to offer more instruments than ever for the girls to practice on through the purchase of a further 2 lever harps.

Harp Teacher Louise Thomson said: “We are very lucky to have such wonderful instruments now and it will enhance our ensemble playing no-end!”

A Print and Cut Machine for DT

The DT Department requested a Print and Cut Machine to enhance and enrich the girls’ learning experience in Design Technology, reflecting and mirroring what happens in the ‘real world’ of industry and manufacturing.

Head of DT Fabiola Cotton is thrilled with the addition of this new machine, and says: “The print and cut machine is aiding girls in creating custom items such as graphics and packaging for their Design and Technology projects. The machine will also benefit our free Saturday morning classes for gifted state primary school pupils. Thank you to all of you who donated to this year’s Annual Fund projects.”

Thank You!

Thank you to all our supporters who so generously donated to the 2015-16 Annual Fund and made all these fantastic opportunities possible for our pupils. The Annual Fund is not running for the duration of the current academic year, as our fundraising efforts are focused on our new Sports Centre. You can find out more about how to support that project here.