Having a Ball for the St. Mary's School Playground
Great Gatsby theme for fundraising event
St Mary's School playground, Putney
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April 19, 2024
The Friends of St. Mary’s School (FoSMS) has been raising funds for some time for an ongoing project to completely overhaul the school’s playground which is very old and in need of replacement.
It set an ambitious goal at the beginning of this academic year to complete Phase 2 this summer. This will include an eco-classroom and an outdoor learning area. However, the costs associated with the project are huge, but having seized on the momentum flowing from completion of Phase 1 last summer the PTA has already raised almost 75% of the funds needed for Phase 2. A recent ‘Cycle to Everest’ event made a major contribution to bringing the target amount closer.
To help get the appeal over the line, FoSMS is holding a fundraising Great Gatsby Ball on Saturday 11 May as the final push to raise the remaining funds to enable the work to take place this summer.
St Mary’s Church, Putney will transform into a 1920’s speakeasy and play host to around 200 guests from the St Mary’s and wider Putney community for a drinks reception, silent auction and three course meal crafted by renowned Chef Baldo Amodio of Novokov, Mayfair, followed by live music and dancing.
The PTA hopes that redeveloping the playground can make a huge difference to the physical and mental health of all the pupils, both current and future. It is also actively exploring ways in which to open the space to the wider local community once completed. The school has been a centre of the community for over 250 years, and the intention is to restore the playground to be an inclusive space for all children to have fun and be active, as well as learn about the environment and sustainability.
A spokesperson for FoSMS said, “There is unfortunately no Government funding available for this sort of project, and grant funding is also very limited. But the community has stepped up to the challenge and our fundraising efforts saw Phase 1 of the refurb completed last summer. This has transformed the back end of the playground with new sports facilities and play space primarily aimed at the older children, but we still have two more phases to go - and seeing the huge benefits to the children of Phase 1 has really brought home how important it is to push forward with the rest of the project.”
Click here to buy tickets for the Great Gatsby Ball.
St Mary’s Church is at Putney High Street (SW15 1SN).
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