Charitable Engagement
“I love the school ethos of everyone being part of our school community.”
Parent Survey
2023
“We are one big family.”
Parent Survey
2023
The Gambia lies on the coast of West Africa. 3% of GDP is spent on healthcare compared to approximately 10% in Western Countries and there is a shortage of healthcare professionals.
Gam Med send regular teams of healthcare professionals unpaid and in their own time. This includes Anaesthetists, Orthopaedic Surgeons, Radiologists, Plastic Surgeons, Physiotherapists and representatives from the medical devices industry. Surgical cases are performed and teaching & training provided.
We are incredibly proud of the generosity of our OLOL community and the vital funds we have raised to support Gam Med – over £1,600 in total. We have held mufti days, PJ days and ‘the longest line of £1 coins competition’. Our fundraising has helped provide much-needed resources for the children after their operations.
We are delighted that the efforts of our school community are making such a positive difference and living out our Catholic values of love, compassion and service to others.
Every single day, through no fault of their own, families around the world struggle to access clean water for drinking and washing; are forced to flee their homes because of violent conflict; are unable to grow food in an increasingly unstable climate.
CAFOD work hand in hand with farmers finding new ways to grow food on land laid bare by the climate crisis.
They support water engineers finding ways to ensure their communities have enough to drink if the rain doesn’t fall.
They stand with expert emergency workers braving conflict to get help to their communities, and parents doing whatever they have to to keep their children safe.
They work alongside peace builders and social workers, healing wounds that are more than skin deep.
Each Lent, we proudly support CAFOD through the Big Lent Walk. Our pupils, staff and families take on the challenge of walking from our school in Rottingdean to Brighton Marina and back, raising sponsorship along the way.
It’s a fantastic opportunity for our school community to come together, get active and put our faith into action, while raising vital funds to support CAFOD’s work with communities around the world. We are always incredibly grateful for the generosity and enthusiasm of everyone who takes part and helps us make a difference.
We are incredibly proud to support the Rockinghorse Appeal, the official fundraising charity for the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital and Trevor Mann Baby Unit in Brighton. Rockinghorse also supports the Special Care Baby Unit at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath, as well as paediatric wards and specialist neonatal units across Sussex. Through its fundraising, the charity provides vital equipment, resources and experiences that make a real difference to sick babies, children and their families.
Our support for Rockinghorse takes many forms throughout the year. We were delighted to be invited to The Grand Brighton to help launch the festive season by singing Christmas carols beneath their stunning Christmas tree. Our children filled the hotel with beautiful Christmas music as they performed to a huge audience, before helping to switch on the spectacular Christmas lights. It was a wonderful occasion and, even more importantly, helped us to raise a generous sum for the Rockinghorse Appeal. We were incredibly proud of our pupils for sharing their talents, spreading Christmas cheer and supporting such an important local charity.
We also look forward to our annual ‘Elf of the 12th’ celebration, which has become a much-loved OLOL tradition! Every year on 12th December, the whole school community – staff included – transforms into a sea of festive elves, with everyone dressing up and donating to Rockinghorse. It’s a fun-filled day that brings the whole school together while helping to raise vital funds for the charity’s work supporting children and families across Sussex.
Through events such as these, we are proud to show our children the importance of faith in action, generosity and looking out for those in our local community.
Each year on Remembrance Day, our whole school community comes together to remember and honour those who have given their lives in service to others.
We walk together from school to the Remembrance statue beside the duck pond, where we lay our special Our Lady of Lourdes poppy wreath. We then observe a respectful minute’s silence, giving our children an opportunity to pause, reflect and remember the sacrifices made by so many.
Throughout the weeks leading up to Remembrance Day, we proudly support the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal, selling poppies, snap bands, keyrings and other items in school. It is a wonderful opportunity for our children to learn about the importance of Remembrance while helping to support such an important cause.
We will remember them. We will never forget those who fell.
