International School Award (ISA) recipient, Warlingham School, hosted its first ever International Diversity Week in October during which it organised a variety of fundraising events in support of the Great
Ormond Street Hospital. On Monday, 7th December 2009, Great Ormond Street Hospital’s School Presenter, Louise Fern visited the school to talk to the students about the charity and accept a cheque for £1,439.11 raised by pupils in both the lower and upper school. Louise Fern said: ’It was a real pleasure to attend Warlingham School , not least to receive the cheque of over £1,400 but to meet and thank the school personally. Great Ormond Street relies heavily on public support and it is incredibly encouraging when a school goes to such great lengths to raise an incredible amount of money. Great Ormond Street Hospital would not be where it is today without this kind of support. Enormous thanks go to all the pupils for their fundraising efforts but also a big thank you to all the staff for helping to make it all happen.’
International Diversity Week was organised by International Schools Co-ordinator and Business Studies teacher, Ron Mugga, who took on the role last year. Mr Mugga said: ‘Warlingham School has been an International School since 1999 and was recently awarded the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF) ISA ‘10th Anniversary’ trophy for receiving the award three-times consecutively. We are committed to offering students a global experience both in and out of the classroom. Our strong links with schools abroad, especially Africa are ever evolving and have already enabled Warlingham students to gain a unique insight into different cultures.’ He continued: ‘Celebrating Diversity Week has not only broadened the students’ appreciation and understanding of different cultures but by combining the event to also support such a fantastic charity as the Great Ormond Street Hospital, it has also made them aware of incredible work carried out by the hospital and the power within themselves to really make a difference.’
During the week in October, Warlingham School hosted ‘Asian Night’ which was organised by Sixth Form students, Zainab Husssain, Liyana Anikumar, Vidya Baji, Liqah Shah, Sreedevi Rajalingam, Alveena Ismail, Nimmy Saijan, Devanshi Shah, Priya, Joshi, Devanshi Mehta and Zaynar Jafar. The evening proved to be a huge success during which students, their families and friends were dazzled by Asian dancing, fashion, music and gastronomy. During the evening approximately £300 was raised towards the fund raising efforts of the school. Alveena Ismail said: ‘Overall it was a very enjoyable evening and I am glad to have been a part of Asian Night. I hope the money we raised will go a long way towards the great work at Great Ormond Street Hospital.’
Headteacher, Alison Woodhouse said: ‘Diversity Week was a great success not only in terms of teaching the students about different cultures but by engaging the whole school community to come together and make a difference. This combined with the fundraising efforts of the students to support the Great Ormond Street Hospital has really supported our aim to widen the students’ horizons and raise their aspirations.’
