Untitled - The Perse School

On behalf of all the pupils who have benefitted from your
generosity, The Perse would like to say a sincere thank
you to all donors who have supported the School’s
fundraising projects over the past two years.
Thanks to your support, we have been able to raise over
£530,000 to meet the steep rise in demand for bursary
places, build a dedicated Outdoor Pursuits Centre to
replace the old scout hut, and fund numerous studentrun
projects, including the national award-winning Perse
Rocketry Society.
We know that the current economic climate has
presented challenges for many members of the Perse
community - including our donors - and so your
continued support means more than ever to the School.
Every penny of your donation goes towards making The
Perse the exceptional school it is today. We hope you
will enjoy reading this brief report which highlights a few
of the key areas where your gifts have already made a
real difference.
Thank you.

To our donors:
“I feel that I have reached
this point in my life
because of the quality of
the education, the
opportunities and the care
which I have received from
The Perse. The fact that it
was possible for me to stay
on with a [hardship]
bursary is due to your
generosity and dedication.
My life would have been
very different otherwise. I
am also very grateful that
not once during this period
was I made to feel less
than equal to any other
pupil at the school.”
Thank you.
A note from a recent Perse
leaver who benefitted from
a bursary place.
The Perse has always prided itself on having a diverse student body, and
today we are committed to preserving the best traditions of the Direct Grant
era by providing an exceptional, all-round education to children no matter
what their circumstances.
Since the end of government assisted places in 1997, our Entrance and
Hardship Bursary Fund has provided means-tested financial assistance to
families who could not otherwise afford a Perse education for their children,
and to those who face sudden and unexpected hardship.
Between 2010-2012 you helped us raise over £300,000 for bursary places,
which transform young lives every day by giving children from less
advantaged backgrounds access to the amazing opportunities on offer at The
Perse. We firmly believe the benefits of such bursaries extend well beyond
those who receive them; they enrich the whole school by enhancing its
intellectual and social diversity.
On behalf of all 114 students who have benefitted from financial assistance
towards their fees over the past year, and the 123 expected to receive bursary
places in 2012-13, we would like to say thank you.

In early 2011 we launched a campaign to replace the old
school scout hut with a dedicated Outdoor Pursuits
Centre.
Thanks to the support of over 100 donors, £200,000 was
raised for this project, which will transform the facilities
available to the Perse Exploration Society (PES), the
successor to the 5th Cambridge Scout Troop, which now
numbers over 300 pupils.
Building work is being carried out over the summer
holidays, with new wings being added to create a kitchen,
male and female washroom facilities, a leaders’ office, as
well as dedicated storage and drying areas for tents and
equipment. The existing hut is being completely gutted
and transformed into a hardwearing, multi-purpose space,
which can be used for different activities. New insulation,
windows, doors, flooring, ceilings and decking are being
added, whilst keeping the rustic feel of the original.
The new building under construction: above: view of new storage
wing on right. Below: work on internal space of main hut.
The new building is expected to open in September 2012,
ready for the start of the new academic year. We look
forward to inviting all donors to the official opening of the
building during the Michaelmas term 2012. Look out for
your invitation!

Donors to The Annual Fund have helped expand our pupils’
horizons by funding master classes, guest speakers, and activities
which expose them to new ideas and bring them into contact
with leaders from academic, sporting and extra-curricular fields.
Numerous educational experiences have been funded over the
past two years, including drama workshops, talks and master
classes by leading academics and internationally renowned
musicians, and even a visit by the Poet Laureate, Carol Ann Duffy.
One of the most successful projects this year has been the award
-winning Perse Rocketry Society which was established with
money from the Annual Fund. Perse pupils Ivo Dawkins, Thomas
Myers, William Drake, Thomas Read and Pratap Singh won the
2012 UK Aerospace Youth Rocketry Challenge, which involved
launching two hen's eggs to a height of exactly 800ft in a rocket
weighing no more than 650 grams and returning the eggs safely
to the ground within 43-47 seconds. The winning Perse rocket
reached an altitude of 803ft and returned to the ground in 39
seconds.
The Perse team will receive an all-expenses paid trip to NASA in
Houston, Texas, and £1,000 to finance future rocketry society
projects as their reward!

If you have any questions about how your donations
are used, would like to make a further donation when
your current pledge expires, or wish to visit the School,
please contact the Development Office or visit our
website:
Tel: +44 (0)1223 403808
Email: development@perse.co.uk
Website: www.perse.co.uk/support-the-perse