A time to give

This week the whole school came together to celebrate Harvest Festival with the focal point being a special assembly led by School Chaplain, Revd Mary Gurr. It provided a valuable opportunity for the girls to reflect on the importance of gifts and charity as we look to support those less fortunate than ourselves.

In advance of the day each House had collected a variety of produce and items that would then be donated to their chosen charities:

• Hampden House chose to support the Wycombe Night Shelter, an organisation that provides shelter for the homeless. Girls were asked to donate grocery items such as tea, coffee, sugar and squash as well as tinned goods and other non-perishable items.
• Mandeville House followed their long-established practice of bringing in decorated harvest baskets full of tins, packets of food, fresh fruit and vegetables to donate to elderly people in the local community.
• Milton House chose “One Can Trust”, a charity which provides free food parcels to those who are deemed to be "in crisis" in High Wycombe and the surrounding areas. One Can Trust welcomes a variety of gifts including dried goods such as tins, packets and toiletries.
• Penn House decided to provide gifts for the Oxford Homeless Community, including items such as marmalade, honey, porridge pots, instant noodles, sachet drinks and toiletries.

In the assembly Revd Gurr talked about how Harvest has changed over time from initially being a pagan festival giving thanks for a successful harvest, to modern times, when instead of being focussed on ourselves we use it as an opportunity to looked outwards into our communities to support others.

Girls from Pre-Prep right through to Sixth Form played a part in the assembly with Pre-Prep girls singing “Cauliflowers Fluffy” and the Prep choir performing a song called “Beautiful World”. In Pre-Prep the girls also baked a wonderful harvest loaf together which they then shared as a delicious snack.

Headmistress, Mrs Helen Ness-Gifford, said “The Harvest Festival is an occasion that the whole school always looks forward to. The opportunity for us to have a focussed time when we can actively seek ways in which we can support those in need is extremely important. We are very grateful for the generous donations from our families which will hopefully make a real difference to the lives of the people who are supported by the charities chosen by each of our Houses.”