It has been inspiring to observe the commitment and proactivity
of so many pupils acting for positive social change in this, my
first year at Sevenoaks; activities have ranged from volunteering
in hospices, care homes or primary schools, to social enterprises,
advocacy campaigns and fundraising events.
The school’s social entrepreneurship competition was won by
Aanya Tanti and Molisha Shah (Lower Sixth) who created and
published a PSHE book tailored to the needs of pupils in India,
having spent time discussing requirements with the teachers
involved. Meanwhile, three students were global finalists of the
MIT Launch X competition and F Factor regional finalists for
their development of rePET, a headpack that purifies water whilst
recycling plastic bottles.
The Lower Sixth engaged in a day held in partnership with One
Young World, which saw them challenged to create a social
enterprise in response to the idea of sustainable cities and
communities, with responsible consumption and production. In
the Lower School, Year 8 pupils completed the ‘£10 challenge’,
creating their own small-scale social businesses, making and selling
products to raise funds for WeSeeHope, supporting young people
via entrepreneurship programmes in East Africa.
The motivation for most social initiatives is a spark of empathy, and
it is clear that pupils’ experiences have enabled them to connect
with others. Some, inspired by painting with patients in the Hospice
in the Weald, set up a pop-up second-hand fashion shop named
RadRags, fundraising for the hospice whilst also raising awareness
of the harms of fast fashion. Similarly, a group of students co-
created a cookery book with local refugees after reflecting on
the ways in which sharing recipes and stories develop a sense of
community. The Pride Society also hosted the first Festival of Love
Week with activities to raise awareness of issues affecting the
LGBTQ+ community.
Pupils have also instigated collections of coats, food and toiletries
for local foodbanks, homeless shelters and refugees in Calais. The
Charity Action Group organised three successful charity weeks and
this year’s Big Sleep Out, which saw record numbers of students
sleeping outside in cold weather to raise funds and awareness for
the work of homeless charity Centrepoint.
The Space has buzzed with pupil-led fundraising concerts
throughout the year, from the Sevenoaks singOFF, to Music for a
Cause, to the Amnesty LipSync battle, alongside our student-led
Christmas bazaar. The first Women in Business event brought
high-profile speakers to the school to explore issues relating to
gender equality in the workplace, and raised money for the Girls’
Network and Women4Women Africa.
The EduSpots team organised a multi-schooled conference
exploring literacy’s role in sustainable development, whilst raising
funds to organise a similar conference for volunteers in Ghana.
Pupils were paired with girls studying at the African Science
Academy, working with them in designing and funding EduSpots
education projects in rural Ghana, collecting 15,000 books and
resources to empower children of a similar age.
The community has benefited from a steady stream of
environmental action initiatives from the Green Team and Zero
Plastics group, with students leading a school-wide strategy to
remove single-use plastic bottles, providing a reusable water bottle
to all pupils, and installing water fountains. Pupils also campaigned
for the introduction of beef-free and lamb-free weeks, with a
presentation to the staff sustainability committee on the resulting
significant reduction in carbon emissions and water usage. Another
team has begun developing two new vegetable gardens on the
campus. Our first Green Week involved students organising a range
of creative awareness-raising events.
Change is of little consequence if it does not survive the test
of time: students have increasingly looked at ways to ensure
that change is not momentary or based on a relationship of
dependence. However, they also recognise that we must first
address our own daily decisions – whether based on what we
consume, or how we respond to others – and remember that,
in the words of Aristotle: ‘excellence is not an act, but a habit’.
Cat Davison
SEVENOAKS SCHOOL 2018-2019
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