We are delighted to share that we have been shortlisted for Independent School of the Year for Community Outreach!
At The Lyceum, being a valuable part of our community is hard baked into our ethos. We want our pupils to develop into kind, confident members of the community whether locally nationally or even internationally.
It is important to us that our pupils are socially engaged and have moral purpose in their lives; that they give to their community and fully understand and reflect on their place in it.
Our partnership with St Vincent’s School
This is why we support a number of initiatives, both in London, and further afield in Liverpool where we have developed a new partnership with St Vincent’s School, a setting that supports students with sensory impairments and other needs.
After meeting them at a Dukes Education poetry event last year, our Year 6 class attended a week-long residential in Liverpool to gain insight into what life for a young person with sensory impairment is really like. During the week, our students learned to navigate daily life as a blind person, played sports blindfolded and were taught braille by their new friends.
We even held a joint music concert where we gave some St Vincent’s pupils the opportunity to hold and play instruments they had never experienced before. We since have received powerful testimonies from some of our Year 6 pupils who have expressed how life-changing they found this experience to be; how it made them reflect on how lucky they are and how much more determined they were to help others. The St Vincent’s students have said how they loved making new friends and teaching them new skills.
Our work in London
In London, we support Hackney Food bank, Refugee Support EU, and Westport Care Home. This year so far, our pupils have delivered 339.6kg of food to Hackney Food bank, providing 416 meals and 17 three-day emergency parcels for those in need, and raised over £11,500 for Refugee Support EU.
When Covid restrictions interrupted our collaboration with Westport Care Home, our pupils were undeterred in their desire to spread Christmas cheer. They delivered presents and cards, and sang Christmas carols from outside the care home, supported with refreshments from local business and passers-by who joined in the singing.
We believe we are giving our pupils a great platform to become thoughtful and active members of their communities, and will continue to support a range of people, initiatives and charities.
