Friends of Redland High

We have a thriving Parents' association, whose support and hard work is greatly appreciated by the School.

Who are we? We are a group of parents who, with the support of Mrs Bateson and Mr Eyles, plan and hold a number of events throughout the year with the aim of raising money to provide 'extras' for the School which enhance the Redland High experience for all the girls. Events are also designed to be fun!

These are some of our top fund raising events of the past year:

Firework Fiesta – We had a tremendous evening at Golden Hill. We enjoyed a spectacular display of pyrotechnics set to music and kept ourselves warm with hot dogs and mulled wine. Thanks to all those who turned out to support us.

Christmas Bazaar - this was a really colourful, bustling occasion. A great variety of stalls provided games for the girls and shopping opportunities for the parents. This year the support was particularly good, with a number of new volunteers helping out. We received many donations from Junior School parents, who supplied the jam jar tombola, bottle tombola stall and refreshments. The Junior School also put together seven fantastic hampers as raffle prizes, which encouraged many shoppers to part with their money. We raised a total of £1,350 - a tremendous result.

Summer Fayre - Judging by the large number of very positive comments we received you all enjoyed this annual event! The Fayre seemed very bright and busy this year - twirling tea cups here, bouncy castle there and activities ranging from live snail racing to making your own bird feeders. We were entertained in style by the Musical Theatre Group, the Junior School Choir and maypole dancers. Our guests enjoyed cream teas and locally produced ice cream as the colourful bunting flapped gently in the breeze.

We raised nearly £2,900 on the day which is an amazing result. Special thanks should go to the parents and girls of Years 7, 8 and 9 and the Global Student Forum team who organised and ran their own games and stall, and to the significant number of parents who volunteered to come along on the day and man a stall. We appreciate your help very much

Quiz and Curry Night - was run in conjunction with sixth form members of Global Student Forum in aid of "EdUKaid" a charity which supports teaching initiatives in Tanzania. Our guests, who were treated to a splendid curry washed down with plenty of beer and soft drinks, faced tricky questions on subjects ranging from "Numbers” to "Who lived here?” Competition was keen and all the effort was rewarded as together we raised just over £1,000.

Helen Dore and Sarah Stagg run the second hand clothes cupboard on the first Friday of each month.

We have used the money raised in a wide variety of ways this year. Most unusual is probably the purchase of two gorillas which were decorated by both the Senior and Junior Schools and were displayed in Bristol to celebrate the centenary of Bristol Zoo Gardens before returning home to Redland High. We have purchased a range of equipment, from a camera for the Nature club to a tent, banner and branded tops for the Orienteering club to use at race meetings. We have supported first aid tuition for students in the Senior School and participated in the recent Royal Wedding excitement by providing a Punch and Judy show for the Junior School girls to enjoy at their celebratory picnic lunch. We have also agreed recently to provide climbing shoes for the Climbing club, and a miniature stage for plotting stage moves in drama and musical productions.

A huge thank you to all of those parents and girls who have either helped out or came to one of our events this year – without you none of this would have been possible. We are always looking for new volunteers to join us. It need not be a significant time commitment – we meet once or twice a term and focus our efforts on a small number of key events. If you would like any more information on what we do or would like to join us please email moc/hgihdnalder//sdneirf.