Raising/Spending Money

FUNDRAISING

As a committee we are always looking for different ways to raise funds for the school and to involve the RGS community during the school year. Some of the ways we do this are listed below.

Easyfundraising
We are really excited to have joined forces with easyfundraising.org.uk to set up an easy to use portal that as a parent of a pupil at RGS you have automatic access to. All you have to do is to do your online shopping via the portal rather than direct with the individual retailer.

It doesn’t cost you a single penny but don’t forget that every time you shop you are helping to raise funds for the benefit of the school!

There are nearly 3,000 retailers on board already including Amazon, John Lewis, Aviva, Thetrainline and Sainsbury’s, and the number is growing all of the time.

So all that you have to do is:

Join – head to easyfundraising.org.uk/causes/reigategrammarschoolpfa/ and sign up for free.

Shop – Every time you shop online go to easyfundraising and start shopping!

Raise – After you’ve checked out, the retailer will make a donation to the PFA.

If you’re worried about forgetting to shop via the fundraising portal then simply set up the Donation Reminder when you first visit easyfundraising.org.uk and it will prompt you each time you shop online.

Remember you pay the same, there is no extra cost to you at all.

There are no hidden charges and no hidden catches it’s just a really easy way to support the PFA and enable us to raise more money for the school.

Thank you for your support and happy shopping!

PFA Ball
The annual ball held in November is the PFA’s largest fundraising event. It is always incredibly well attended and is a great chance for parents to get to know one another, as well, of course, as having a great evening.

Comedy Night
We ran our first Comedy Night in 2015 and it was such an outstanding success that it’s become an annual event in the calendar, providing the RGS community with the chance to see some top class comedians right here on the school premises.

Christmas Shopping Event
For the past three years this event has offered a range of Christmas goodies and entertainment, raising money for the PFA and providing a festive shopping evening in the run up to Christmas. We are focusing our efforts elsewhere this year, so the Christmas Shopping Evening will be taking a break in 2018. However, we are looking at running it again in November 2020, so watch this space for more information..

Christmas Tree Sale
We run this event every year and every year parents come back to buy their trees from us. The quality is consistently high and we are pleased that we get such great feedback from parents and staff who buy from us.

I just wanted to pen an email to thank the PFA for another fantastic Christmas tree. The ones you sell are, in my opinion, the very best you can buy in Reigate… and a great collection service!

Yet again we were very happy with the Christmas tree. As ever, it was a lovely tree and only a small amount of needles dropped. It was so easy to arrange and collect. We will definitely be back for another next year.

Satisfied customers from our Christmas tree sales!

Junior Discos
These junior discos have been a successful feature of the PFA calendar for many years. They are incredibly well received and everyone always has a great time!

Nearly New Uniform Sales
These sales are held at least once every term. They provide a way for uniform, games kit and ski wear (sold at the Winter and Spring sales) to be recycled at very reasonable prices, thereby raising money for both parents and the PFA. Further information on the sales can be found here.

New Parents’ Party
Every year the PFA runs a social evening for all new parents to the school. It’s a great opportunity to socialise and meet other new parents.

WHERE THE MONEY GOES

Over the years the PFA has funded several additions to school facilities, including outdoor classroom areas and a tea pavilion at the Hartswood sports ground. A range of departments and various aspects of school life have benefited from the PFA’s support and these have recently included cameras for the Art department and a drone for the CCF.

At the moment we are focusing our support on the Learning Support department and have funded their new ‘chill zone’, as well as more practical academic aids such as reader pens and a number of laptops. We are immensely proud of being able to make such significant contributions to the quality of the school facilities. We also raise funds for smaller projects and have managed to make other contributions to school life. These include a number of benches in the playground, outdoor table tennis and table football equipment, and making an annual contribution to the Sixth Form leavers’ event, which all students are able to enjoy.

We have also made significant donations to some of the School’s teaching departments and as can be seen by these responses they have been warmly received:

We have several children now with printed cards giving them permission to come to ‘The Snug’ in lesson time. We are so lucky to have this calm, comforting space where children can come for some quiet time. Thank you for making it possible.

Sandra Clarke, Head of Learning Support.

This is my favourite room in the whole school: it’s so peaceful.

RGS Student

This is the only place I can sleep. At home it’s too noisy.

RGS Student with Asperger’s

Thank you for all the fundraising efforts that enabled the school to have the Snug room….. my daughter is still only in school part time and needs rest breaks, having a nice space to go into rather than the medical room is such a boost. As a parent when things are going well you don’t really realise that there are others that are struggling. For you to think of putting something like this in place is extremely thoughtful. –

Parent

Last year the PFA funded the purchase of two new digital cameras. These cameras have benefitted both Art and photography students; enabling students to not only take photographs of their work for documentation but also supporting their development of ideas and manipulating images in a digital format. They also provided the funding for a new A1 printing press for room 31 which has enabled students to work larger through various printmaking processes such as dry point etching and collographs. The purchase of a silk screen washing booth has also enabled students to work on a larger scale with silk screen printing and has been an invaluable resource to the art Department.We are eternally grateful for what the PFA has done for us, these are items that are large purchases within a department budget so being able to use the money raised by the PFA has made a huge difference to us, so thank you very much to the team.

Elizabeth Burns, Head of Art Department

The RGS weather station, donated by the PFA, has become an exciting part of the school and a unique pioneering educational project amongst schools. It is used by various departments in school for teaching purposes including Geography and Maths. The sky is literally not the limit with RGS weather and we have exciting plans for the future.

Simon Collins, Geography Department