Pinewood has a long tradition of involvement in the local community. The school is involved with several local primary schools providing facilities and workshops as well as supporting a wide range of charities throughout the year. Community projects are a regular feature of school life providing the children with opportunities to contribute to the local area and raising awareness of people in the community who are in need.
Pinewood also enjoys close links with Bourton village who attend the annual Bonfire Night as well as the Summer Evening and other Friends of Pinewood events. The Headmaster is the Chairman of the Alms House Committee, and Henrietta his wife, is on the Village Hall Committee. This year the School has supported the fund for a new floor in the village hall, and members of the village helped to plant trees in the second phase of the Community Woodland planting, where a wood is being developed in the school grounds for use by Pinewood and the village community. The village also use the school grounds for their annual fete. The school regularly uses St James’ Bourton for its school services and also provides the church with a Christmas tree each year; parents are also currently working on a project to provide the church with embroidered kneelers. Pinewood makes the school facilities available to organisations such as the Shrivenham Cricket Club.
Primary Schools
In May this year pupils from Ashbury School visited Pinewood for a Science workshop and enjoyed a range of experiments in the school science labs. From weights and measures to the production of salt crystals, the children were helped to investigate by current pupils and under careful instruction from the Head of Science. It was a brilliant day and everyone enjoyed themselves. Ashbury, Bishopstone and Watchfield Primary schools also attend sports coaching sessions with Pinewood children and have the chance to use the grounds and pitches including the Astroturf.
Abroad
The Pre-Prep through Friends of Pinewood sponsors a child called Aminat in Ethiopia to enable her to attend a local school. They enjoy writing and receiving letters. We are also developing links with The Shonda Project, a charity which is working to educate young people in Shonda, Kenya who are in need due to poverty, sickness and distress. Pinewood parents David and Liz Woods with their children Matthew, Chris, Jonny and Hannah visited Shonda in summer 2011, taking clothing, musical instruments and sports equipment donated by the school and the school community. Pinewood hopes to develop links at pupil level too, with Skype interactions as well as working to improve the facilities at the local school. A collection at the Carol Service in December 2011 raised over £1,000 for the charity.
Fundraising
Pinewood Music and Drama has supported a charity called Link Ethiopia this year and raised over £800. Link Ethiopia seeks to support education and increase cultural awareness between young people in Ethiopia and the UK. We are hoping to increase the link with a particular school.
Male members of staff recently supported "Movember", by being sponsored to grow a moustache to raise awareness of and funds for male health issues, particularly prostate cancer.
Pinewood annually supports the George Bailey Trust set up in memory of a Pinewood pupil, George Bailey who died aged 13 from cancer. The Trust aims to provide holistic therapy and support to children and parents affected by childhood cancer. The annual bike ride and “Rubber Legs Challenge” hosted by the school, is always well attended and huge fun.
Events over the course of the year allow Friends of Pinewood to fundraise for the school and other local charities such as the Wiltshire Air Ambulance, CALM (Children's Cancer & Leukaemia Movement) and Riding for the Disabled. For more information on the work of Friends of Pinewood please click here.
Community
In October following the collection for Harvest, children distributed food and produce to members of Bourton village and the wider community.
A recent collection for the Swindon Foodbank charity saw Pinewood collecting a record breaking tonne of tinned and dry food, which is enough to feed 1180 meals to an average family and over 2.5 times the amount collected by any school in the Swindon area to date. Swindon Foodbank is a local charity that provides food and support to families that are facing crisis. The different sections of the school competed against each other seeing pre-prep contributing the most with 402 kg. One year 8 pupil decided to bring in his own body weight in tins! The Foodbank were thrilled to have such a large collection and Pinewood is looking forward to supporting them next year. We are also hoping to contribute towards the cost of a new van for their collections.
Top image: Swindon Food Bank Collection
FOP Bonfire Night
Science with Ashbury Primary
The Shonda Project, Kenya
George Bailey Trust Rubber Legs Challenge
Swindon Food Bank Collection
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Accreditations
Contact Pinewood School
Pinewood,
Bourton, Shrivenham,
Wiltshire, SN6 8HZ
Telephone 01793 782205