Charity and Courageous Advocacy

We run a number of charitable events in school, as well as organising and being involved in some of the larger, non-charity based events that the school runs, such as the prom.

Courageous Advocacy

The term ‘courageous advocacy’ refers to the act of speaking out against an issue of injustice, often on behalf of those whose voice is not heard. Speaking out, at whatever level this takes place, requires an element (and sometimes a great deal) of courage! Becoming a courageous advocate for change, therefore, must involve being informed about an issue and it must move beyond simply knowing, to saying and doing. At Bishop Rawstorne Academy, our charity work is based upon courageous advocacy by speaking out against injustice and doing something it about. Examples of this are not just national or global, we also work with local foodbanks in our villages and our students take it upon themselves as individuals, to work towards justice in equality in their locality.

Charity Minions of Courageous Advocacy

Our Charity Minions are a group of students from across the year groups who run the charity events in school. It is a fluid group - students sign up for and get involved and support the charities and events they are interested in. We meet on a regular basis on a Wednesday lunchtime or after school on Wednesdays, depending on what events we have going on and being organised. All students are welcome to come along and have their say!

Current Campaigns

Fairtrade Statue for the school

We have recently been awarded the Fairtrade FairActive School Award for our efforts in using and raising the profile of Fairtrade across the school and to the wider school family. This has involved a talk from a Fairtrade advocate, assemblies and Fairtrade citizenship lessons for the whole school, coffee mornings/afternoons using and promoting Fairtrade products and a whole-school survey to see what we know about Fairtrade and where to go next. No mean feat! This accreditation lasts for two years and we are already planning how to get the top award of FairAchiever.

Pre-Loved Uniform Shop

Following feedback from the school forum, we set up a pre-loved uniform shop. Last year the Charity Minions are invaluable in sorting the pre-loved uniform we get donated and we try to run a pop-up shop termly which offers good quality uniform at reduced prices. This not only helps parents but also has lead to many discussions about how this is better for the environment and the planet. The group are very keen to keep offering this service and promote it at every possible opportunity. The next shop "opening" will be towards the end of the Summer term where we hope to meet some of our new Year 7 intake parents.

School Garden

The Charity Minions wanted to transform the 'school garden' into a wellbeing area for all students and staff but the area allocated had become over grown and a little bit derelict. We were lucky enough to secure a donation from the Peter Lathom Charity to pay for a new fence and an ex student (A Wade Landscapes) donated his time to erect this. Mr Parker and Mr Farnworth have also worked hard to clear the polytunnel and a lot of rubbish and the D&T group have been using old pallets to make some planters. Community Payback have also helped with clearing the site and we also had some fruit trees and hedges donated from The National Trust (with more coming in November). After a lot of hard work its now starting to take shape! The next phase is to clear the stones and lay a new membrane and gravel and we hope once this is done we can plant up the planters and install some seating and canopies so students and staff can enjoy the peace and quiet.

Books for Charity

We are supporting a Year 8 parent with book donations to one of the local Booths supermarkets which sells second hand books at their stores. The proceeds of these sales are donated to various charities and we have an ongoing appeal for book donations. So far we have donated 5 bags worth!

Cake Sale for Sadie

Sadie in Year 8 donated her hair to The Princess Trust so that a wig could be made for a child who has lost their hair through cancer treatment. To support her in this we held a cake bake sale to help raise funds for the wig to be made (approx £700). We are very proud of Sadie and hope this may encourage others to do the same!

Easter Non Uniform Day

This raised over £1500 for the North West Air Ambulance. Bea (one of our Charity Minions) asked if we could support this amazing charity as one of their friends needed the service a few months ago. We were delighted to be able to do this, and would always encourage other people to suggest charities for our non uniform donations.

Next Non Uniform Day

Our last non uniform day will be Friday 5 July and this will be raising money to provide a solar powered AED at the Fika cafe in Rivington. Mrs Gaskell (our Office Manager) witnessed a tragic event recently where, had a defibrillator been available a life may have been saved. We are very happy to be supporting this and hoping to give this great cause a huge boost!

Events Supported Over the Past 12 Months

Macmillan Coffee Mornings - this year students baked and brought in their own amazing cakes! over £400 raised.
Supporting Ukranian and Afghanistan families in the area.
Supporting Leyland food bank with both non-uniform funds and food bank donations.
Donation of and decorating a Christmas tree for Croston Park care home and to our local churches Christmas Tree festivals.
Donations to Derian House in memory of Alex Cross, we have a small garden area for this and are also going to have a bench in this area.
Donations to personal charity events and several student events. If you are fundraising please get in touch - if we can we will donate!

If you want more information about any of these events please contact Mrs Duckworth via office@bishopr.co.uk.