Opportunity Trust

STATEMENT OF POLICY

The stated object of the Trust is ‘To enhance the education of Huntington School pupils in ways that cannot normally be met within allocated resources’. To give guidance and encouragement to prospective applicants for funding, and to maintain consistency, the Trustees now set out the present principles and policies they have established and presently wish to follow when applications are considered.

In principle:-

(1) The Trustees wish to develop the Trust to introduce extra money to benefit groups and individual pupils to fund projects which the School could not otherwise provide and which enhance pupils’ education whilst at school and shortly after leaving.

(2) All pupils and all teaching and support staff are eligible to apply for grants from the fund.

(3) The Trustees will only consider applications from pupils made whilst they are still attending school in respect of activities which will take place during the time they are pupils and up to but not normally beyond 31st.March in the year following their leaving.

(4) The Trustees will meet to consider applications in the December and June of each school year.

(5)The Trustees aim to increase the financial capacity of the Trust to enhance the education of future pupils.

(6) The Trustees will not normally contribute financially to other charities.

Applications by or on behalf of groups of pupils:-

The Trustees particularly welcome and expect many successful applications to be made by, or on behalf of, groups of two or more pupils within the School for projects which are likely to provide broad educational benefit to the groups who apply, and possibly to pupils who succeed them. The Trustees welcome group applications when made through the Head Teacher, Heads of Year, Heads of Department, members of teaching and other Staff, and especially when made by groups of pupils themselves.

The following are examples of applications the Trustees will be pleased to consider. These are examples only and are not intended to be in any way restrictive. Every application the Trustees receive will be welcomed and considered carefully.

• Applications for kit for teams representing the school and/or funding to allow for extra training of members of school sports teams competing at a high level.
• Applications for equipment for lunchtime clubs to enhance lunchtime activities in the school. • Applications for instruments for the orchestra or other musical extra curricular activity.
• Applications to fund visits by outside speakers or lecturers (to include writers, poets, or acting groups) for subject enhancement.
• A sum for use by the Head Teacher to support trip participation by needy pupils.
• Support for particularly expensive trips intended to provide genuine educational gain for the participants
• Small-scale enhancements to the school site promoting pupils’ interests, open access computers or trial improvement to necessary facilities.

Applications by individual pupils:-

The Trustees also welcome applications from individual pupils made during the time they are studying at the School. No reasonable individual application is excluded but the application will carry additional weight if the proposed project is intended to bring benefit to more than just the pupil applying. All such individual projects will normally need to be completed by the end of March in the year following the pupil leaving School.

As guidance only applications the Trustees would welcome include:

• Applications from students to become involved in gap year activities bringing  benefit to people in third world countries and then as a role model sharing that experience in School.
• Applications from staff intended to improve the broad educational experience of pupils.
• Applications from students seeking to undertake challenges likely to educate and mature the applicant and to inspire others.

Application Form (click here)