Every morning our pupils arrive to school weighed down with books, folders, instruments and kit. However, on Fridays, one year group can also be seen lugging bags and boxes of tinned and dried food, and toiletries.

Each House competes fiercely to create the tallest pile in the foyer of Warwick Hall, supervised by prefects who announce the winner by the end of registration. It is invariably a close fought contest and photographic evidence is studied in detail!

The reason? As part of our commitment to contribute to our local community we have decided to regularly donate to Warwick District Foodbank. Our school values include Humility and Responsibility and it is with this in mind that we encourage every pupil to habitually donate to our local foodbank.

Warwick District Foodbank sorts the donations and provides everyone referred with a balanced and nutritious 3 day supply of food. They offer compassionate and dignified support to those in greatest need in our local community and we have a small team of pupil volunteers who help to sort the boxes on a Friday afternoon.

None of this could happen without Warwick School’s Foodbank Heroes! Ian Agutter and Rob Robertson load a bus with donations every Friday and deliver them to the warehouse. They do this in addition to their usual workload and are unfailingly cheerful about it.

Meik Wiking, founder of the Happiness Research Institute has spent years researching the science of happiness. In his book ‘The Key to Happiness’ he sets out the 6 areas that make people happiest.

You will be unsurprised to hear that a sense of community and kindness are two of the keys to achieving cognitive (overall) satisfaction as well as eudaimonia, Aristotle’s perception that happiness is achieved through a purposeful life.

By regularly donating to the foodbank, we are endeavouring to foster kindness in our pupils and strengthen our sense of community.

Thank you to all families who are supporting this initiative. We are very proud of the pupils who are committed to supporting those who are struggling in our local area.

Mrs Quinn | Senior Professional Mentor and Professional Coach