During the Easter Holidays I went to Uganda for three weeks to identify different projects that needed support from the UK.  I had been invited by the African International Christian Ministry (AICM), an organisation that was founded by an Ugandan Anglican priest roughly twenty years ago with the aim to alleviate hardship and poverty.  One of the projects they support is the resettlement of the Batwa tribe – commonly known as Pygmies – who had been forced out of the rainforests by conservationists. Of specific interest to me were the schools that have been started for the benefit of the children of the Batwa.  Westbrook House had a non-uniform day shortly before the end of term and generously donated the money raised for the benefit of these schools.  There are currently two schools that have been built by the AICM, situated in two of the resettlement areas just outside Kabale, in the Southwestern corner of Uganda. 

With the £130 donated by the children of Westbrook House, we were able to buy 96 items of clothing, 500 exercise books, 288 pencils, 50 rubbers, 25 pencil sharpeners, 30 packs of colouring pencils and, most importantly, 60 text books (15 Primary 1 Maths, 15 Primary 1 English, 15 Primary 2 Maths & 15 Primary 2 English).  The school previously only owned one textbook (a Primary 2 English book that is 8 years old) – the teacher used this book to copy out work for the children by hand.  We had a wonderful day up in the Rwenzori Mountains at Rwamahano School, and the children as well as their parents are very grateful to Westbrook House for your support.

Postling Farm

On Friday 25th April, the Pre-Reception and Nursery children visited Postling Farm. The children were able to observe the farm animals in their natural environment. The baby lamb was only 2 days old and the children were able to see him feeding from his mother. They were also fascinated by the chicken coop and really enjoyed playing with the sheep dog, Jack. To finish the day the children all enjoyed a picnic in a field- a wonderful experience for all the children.

Foundation Assembly

On Friday 9th March, the Foundation department proudly sang 'The Noah's Ark rap'. The Reception class 'rapped' the story, whilst the Pre-Reception class offered great animal voices as they proceeded onto the ark. An excellent assembly Foundation Department!  

Form 3 Trip to Dover Museum

"We went to the Painted House and had a talk with a man called Brian. First we dressed up. Later we looked at artefacts and drew them and labelled them. Then we made mosaics. After that we did brass rubbing and some drama with a man called Ian in a workshop. Next we talked to a lady called Sue. She was dressed as a Roman lady. Finally we went to the museum and into the shop." by Louisa Chopping, Form 3