Update on the 140th Anniversary Assisted Places Appeal - a message from Chris Hosty
With our appeal deadline fast approaching we are delighted to say that we now have only £25,000 left to raise, and with £12,500 match funding left, this equates to only 25 people giving £14 per month for three years.
Thank you to everyone who has supported the appeal so far, we are extremely grateful. To those who are yet to support, gifts of any size collectively make a huge difference and can change a girls life. Please consider making a gift.
Chris Hosty shares her thoughts on this special anniversary year...
In the middle of June I attended the 140th Anniversary Reunion. I had never been before; for all the years I taught at KEHS, turning up on a Saturday in term time didn’t seem terribly enticing. But now, safely retired, I really enjoyed the day.
It was fascinating to see so many “Old Girls” gathered together. Some had left the school before I started in 1967. Many were people I had taught, taken on DofE expeditions, or seen my husband direct in school plays. Watching them at lunch, all talking away, and later in the library, poring over the photographs and treasures that the OE Committee had laid out, made me feel very proud to be part of such a strong community.
But it also made me sad. For so many years, when KEHS was a Direct Grant school, and later when government assisted places were available, we could take any girl who did well in the Entrance Exam, regardless of her background. But now the picture is different.
When I taught maths at KEHS I was obviously involved in marking and processing the exam. Now, I am a trustee of The KEHS Trust, which works to raise and look after the funds donated for Assisted Places. In both roles I have seen clearly how, every year, we have to turn away girls who have done well in the Exam, but whose families cannot afford our fees.
You all know that we are making a special effort in this, our 140th year, to boost the funds we have available. If you possibly can, please join in. Every single donation will help. All those of you who studied some calculus should remember how tiny increments add up…
And then, if you come to a future reunion, or just keep up with school news online, you will know that some of the animated, argumentative, diverse girls and women you see are part of the KEHS community because you helped to put them there.
With best wishes
Chris
Old Edwardian (1974), KEHS Staff (1987 - 2018), Governor (2020 – present) and KEHS Trust Trustee (2023 – present)
To find out more or to donate to the 140th appeal please click here.
