Altruism at its Finest 

One of the plans we have put in place is for Warwick boys in Year 10, 11, 12 and 13 to undertake volunteering on a Friday afternoon, known, as ‘Friday Afternoon Activities.’ We have successfully placed 20 boys with Westgate Primary School. The boys offer 1:1 support with reading and assist primary school children with their Maths.

The boys have fully embraced their volunteering responsibilities, using their talents to help young children and impart the knowledge and expertise that they have developed during their time at Warwick. Boys who are enthusiastic about numbers have engaged and supported many of the primary Year 3’s in this area. One Year 12 pupil, Nathan produced a PowerPoint presentation with instructions on how to complete, 2, 5- and 10-times tables. Another Year 12 pupil, Henry produced a collection of Westgate Christmas Poems, followed by a fairy tale story, what happens to Red Riding Hood, after ‘Happy Ever After.’

The benefits of the boys volunteering have been wonderful to see. They have demonstrated their competencies in creativity, numeracy, problem-solving, communication, knowledge and expertise outside the classroom that others appreciate, find valuable and worthwhile.

Clearly these skills can be transferred one day to the world of work, but what has been important is that the boys can now see for themselves how it can be done based on their own skills set.

Surely this is the essence of learning, and we hope to expand our programme of volunteering to other schools. Watch this space.

Noel Tapper-Gray | Head of Careers and Volunteering