Success story: Goldfinch Primary School
Sometimes, a campaign can take you beyond your school’s fundraising dream. We were absolutely delighted to hear from Goldfinch Primary School, who exceeded their fundraising goal and raised over £12,000, all towards revitalising their school library.
Dorota, Head of English at Goldfinch Primary School, led the school’s campaign. “We are a one form school, with a majority of EAL pupils, and with around 36% of the school on free school meals. Our library was in a bad state. It wasn’t engaging, it wasn’t nice. The books themselves were very old, 20, 30 years old."
Building momentum and excitement
"I decided it was time to invest proper money into it. My goal was to make sure that our library was full of engaging books for our pupils.”
So, how did the school achieve and exceed their fundraising goal? “We did everything we possibly could. I wrote a whole fundraising proposal as well, on how we’re going to use the books, what the impact will be. It was very detailed and took time to write, alongside our fundraising letter. Our families are not very affluent, and so we reached out beyond the school community and to the charities we worked with, as well as the communities in the surrounding area.”
Alongside their online fundraising page, Goldfinch Primary School hosted a celebration to boost their campaign. “We held a big event and invited lots of people, people we were thankful to for their support so far, and they brought their friends with them, who wanted to donate too!”
Reaching out beyond the school community
Dorota recommends to other teachers and staff who want to fundraise to reach out to businesses, charities and other organisations in the local area, as you never know what might happen! “It was a very busy time, contacting all the people that we knew as a school, and it paid off massively.”
It is safe to say that there will be an immense impact on the school’s reading for pleasure mission after raising over £12,000. “One of the rights in Daniel Pennac's '10 rights of a reader' is access to new books. I think a lot of our children don’t have access at all. The parents don’t have the funds to buy new books, or a place to store them. But now they will have access to a library, actually go there and see and reach for the books, which will draw them into reading.”
Achieving the school's library dream, made easy
Would Dorota recommend Support your school to other teachers? "Yes, it’s very straightforward. It was very easy for me to set up and I think that’s why it’s good for class teachers and English leads and other staff with little time in the week. It didn’t take me a huge amount of time admin wise, and I think it’s why I am very happy!"
Dorota and everyone at Goldfinch Primary School have much to be happy about, and we hope they are incredibly proud of what they have achieved for their pupils. All of the money fundraised went towards renewing the library stock, as well as some soft seating from Peters nature range to create the school's dream of a welcoming retreat into the world of reading.
