FOREWORD
by Headmaster, Nicholas Hewlett
I am delighted to share with you this summary of St Dunstan’s community benefit and partnership work across 2019-20.
This was a year like no other. But despite the extraordinary challenges of the coronavirus pandemic and lockdown, there is still so much to celebrate, not least the compassion and creativity of our community as we have adapted to new and different ways of working. Although we were unable to end the year with the well-established St Dunstan’s Festival, I was very proud of the fact that through the pandemic we were able to cement even further our connections with our local community – donating unused food to local food banks, continuing to open the school for the children of key workers, opening up the Jubilee Grounds for NHS staff to use for parking, and donating all our goggles, eye defenders, aprons and gloves to a variety of hospitals and care homes. The Design Engineering Department used our laser cutters and 3D printers to produce much needed face shields for hospitals and care homes – over 200 were distributed to those working on the frontline against the pandemic.
We continue to offer our sports facilities in the centre of Catford for community use, and I am delighted that they are utilised so extensively. Our Jubilee Ground is now widely used by local clubs, offering increased opportunities for hockey, tennis, basketball and netball, as well as cricket, football and rugby across the borough of Lewisham and beyond. We look forward to the opening of our new facilities in April 2021 which will afford even more opportunity for community engagement.
We have also made great strides in sustainability this year, with valuable input from the student Sustainability Committee leading to some really forward-thinking developments which are celebrated in this brochure.
I do hope you will enjoy looking through this summary and find it as heartening as I do. We would continue to welcome any dialogue with local charities and community groups to engage with us in how we can further develop stronger links between St Dunstan’s College and the area of which we are proud to be a part.
Mr Nicholas Hewlett Headmaster, St Dunstan’s College
Reaching out through
CHILDREN AND LOCAL SCHOOLS
Bursaries
695,182
was provided through our Bursary programme
59
The St Dunstan's Benevolent Fund supported families through hardship, gifting more than £29,500
In total Lewisham Historical society had free use of our facilities for their monthly lectures
families received bursary assistance of some kind
was given to the London Academy of Excellence Tottenham supporting their work improving social mobility through excellence in 16+ education £50,000
St Dunstan’s led subject knowledge enhancement sessions in Physics, both in person (2 hours – 15 teachers) and online (7 hours – 62 teachers), for state school teachers at Sedgehill School, St Matthew’s Academy and United Learning Academy Chain
St Dunstan’s community choir of parents, alumni and local singers of the Catford community met regularly to sing together
Rathfern Primary School were given
free use
of our Great Hall to host their annual Christmas celebration
Collaboration with local schools welcoming students for regular masterclasses
St Dunstan’s was a centre for the community for those children who wished to enter Associated Board Music examinations
Our musicians aided community worship at Southwark Cathedral, All Hallows by the Tower and St Augustine’s Church
Our swimming pool was made accessible every week to support Rathfern Primary School’s swim programme
Reaching out through SPORT
swimming lessons were delivered to local children at the St Dunstan’s Swim School
Swimming
The pool was a training venue for Orpington O Jays Swimming Club
The pool was an IQL (Institute of Qualified Lifeguard) registered training centre
Grass Pitch Hire / Sport Hire
Football
Over 13,000 hours of hire was made available to the public on our synthetic sports pitches annually
The St Dunstan’s Jubilee Ground offered free access to 900 local primary school children who attended Lewisham School Games Football events over 3 days
Free use of our pitches was provided for Lewisham’s district football squad
Lewisham’s London Youth Games football squad was given free access to train ahead of the event
5 hours a week of free pitch hire was provided to Catford and Lewisham police units for training and fitness
Dalmain FC provided free Community Football development at the Jubilee Ground to local girls aged 7–12
St Dunstan’s Jubilee Ground continued as Tottenham Hotspur FC’s only Southern Football Centre offering holiday development programmes with premier league standard coaching to local children
St Dunstan’s Jubilee Ground was home to Academy One sports education helping local footballers create new opportunities through education and access to professional clubs
Our partnership with Super Camps delivered Ofsted registered holiday activity camp spaces for over 400 children from the local area
Munchkin Sports delivered 5 weeks of summer camps for over 3000 local children
1700 hours of public hire were made available in our sports hall including the support of cricket, badminton and netball
St Dunstan’s College hosted Goldsmith’s University Varsity Day with multiple sports being played across the main college and Jubilee Ground sites with over 500 participants and spectators
Cricket
St Dunstan’s continued in its annual support for the MCC Community Cricket Hub providing local children with
13 weeks of free cricket coaching and pathways
Catford Cyphers Cricket Club and Beckenham Cricket Club were based at the Jubilee Ground
Netball
We hosted the Lewisham Schools Netball Event for 12 local schools competing at years 5 & 6
General Hockey
35 hours weekly hire were made available to local community clubs
6 Lewisham School Games events were booked in at the Jubilee Ground for Boys and Girls Football, Netball, Mixed TAG rugby and a MultiSkills festival day
Reaching out through
COMMUNITY SERVICE AND CHARITY
3
students pioneered a competitive project amongst each year group to fill the food bank in Catford library on a weekly basis
15
students volunteered to help out in the Junior School, providing teaching support and after-school care
St Dunstan’s Enterprises supported The Royal British Legion offering the Great Hall to record their annual album
2
students maintained the Catford Bridge book exchange every week supplying new books for the local community to enjoy
Reaching out through SUSTAINABILITY
Wildflowers planted around the College
Participation in Earth Hour
Plastic bottles no longer provided in the refectory
New trees planted at the front of the College
1,000 bulbs planted around the College
Computers installed with software to automatically switch off after working hours
Senior School nature and science pond built
Switch off engine signs installed
Car Free Days
introduced
A new Junior School woodland classroom was developed on site
Environmentally friendly construction methods employed
Food donated to local food banks to avoid waste
The Junior School won Lewisham Council’s Gold Air Quality award
Reaching out through THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
More than 750 items of PPE produced by St Dunstan’s Design Engineering Department. These were delivered to:
• King’s College London
• St Christopher’s Hospice
• Bethlem Royal Hospital
• Local GP surgeries
Other protective eyewear donated from the Art Department and Science Labs was given to local hospitals and GP surgeries
Food and drink donated to Catford’s Saturday Soup Kitchen
• 20 jacket potatoes
• 10kg new potatoes
• 8 heads of cos lettuce
• 170 apples
• 60 oranges
• 20 lemons
• 2 honeydew melons
• 6 pineapples
• 12 cucumbers
• 150 eggs
St Dunstan’s Lectures were posted online for the whole community to enjoy – more than 15,000 views
Dedicated Support Hub
created on our website featuring the latest NHS and PHE guidance, mental health advice and daily tips for lockdown suggested by teachers and pupils
Junior School pupils created poems and raps to show their support for the NHS and Key Workers during their LAMDA lessons
The College remained open during the pandemic for children of Key Workers
Free parking for NHS and Key Worker staff at our Jubilee Ground
The Jubilee Ground was used as a testing ground during the pandemic
Staff and students wore blue to support the NHS and Key Workers
Food and drink deliveries made to the Trussell Trust food bank in Forest Hill
OUTREACH OVERVIEW
Financial support
• Bursaries
• Scholarships
• Benevolent Fund
• London Academy of Excellence
Charity support
• Macmillan Cancer Support
• Young Minds
• Lewisham Food Bank
• Sickle Cell Society
• World Wide Fund for Nature
• Centrepoint
• Save the Children
• Crisis
Community support
• Venue and facility use
• PPE for NHS and Key Workers
• Food bank donations
• Educational master classes for local schools
• Education articles in the local media
Student volunteering
• Primary School reading sessions
• Catford Food Bank
• Catford Bridge Library
• After School Care
