Impact of partnership work done in 2025 (ISC annual Census 2026)
- 20 state schools involved
- 1001-2000 state school pupils involved
- 800 staff hours given
Impact Statement
At Blundell’s, community engagement is a key part of a Blundellians education, social responsibility, and of vital importance for a healthy, happy school that is part of its wider community. We are fortunate to have extensive grounds and therefore commit ourselves, as a Charity, to using our facilities for the purposes of education in its widest sense, in line with the wishes of our founder.
The post of Director of Community Partnerships, part of the Senior Leadership Team, was created in 2020 with the purpose of developing sustainable community partnerships that bring benefits to all those involved.
All pupils at Blundell’s from Year 7 to 13 have the opportunity to join one of four Community Action Teams (CAT’s), they are:
· Environment and Sustainability Team
· Equality, Diversity, and Inclusivity Team
· Academic and Creative Arts Team
· Sport and Outdoor Pursuits Team
The pupil led CAT’s take action in each of these areas to bring change and improvement ensuring the Community Partnerships programme engages, enriches and develops sustainable partnerships with the community around us. All the teams work very closely with the schools Charity Committee.
Community Partnerships currently focuses on the areas explained below:
Supporting local Schools and education initiatives
· Over the last twelve months we have established a great partnership with Tiverton High School and have invited their Ambassadors (Pupil Leadership Team) into school on numerous occasions for events like our school plays and music concerts, in which some of them now take part. We are now holding half termly meetings with them to develop various joint projects and fundraising events.
· Each half term we hold Primary School Activity Days when Year 4, 5 or 6 from one of our local Primary schools comes in for a morning focusing on academic workshops, run usually by our A Level pupils, lunch with a pastoral focus in a boarding house and then our Sports Leaders run a games session for them in the afternoon.
· Another highly important school partnership continues to lie with the Culm Valley Small Schools Association (CVSSA) which comprises nine local primary schools. We have, over a number of years, committed to providing the schools with one of our own Physical Education teachers. One morning a week, for 4 weeks. He travels to each of the local schools, teaching PE, providing equipment, and also hosting the schools in our facilities. The impact of this is that we provide free of charge, hoping to prepare the pupils for sporting events, competitions, matches, tournaments, gaining knowledge of the sport.
· Offering the Sports Leadership programme at Level 2 and 3 gives our pupils the opportunity to participate in numerous events with younger pupils in our own school, prep school, and other local primary schools. These events included school taster days, tournaments, and skills development sessions. Students went into local primary schools to deliver special PE lessons to the younger students. These events cover a wide range of sports, cricket, hockey, netball, tag rugby and athletics. Our biggest event last year saw 9 local primary schools come together for a High Five netball tournament at Blundell’s School, the children all got a dedicated sports leader to coach them a skills session for 45 minutes then lead/umpire their team in the tournament. It was a great opportunity as many of the young girls that came had never played netball before this and encouraged links with local Titans netball club based out of the school. This year we have expanded our sports leadership programme with nearly 60 Year 10 and 11 students taking the level 2 course and 10 Year 11 pupils being selected for the Level 3 qualification. This has been an amazing experience for both our students and the younger pupils they have been working with.
· The Art Department holds community Evening Life Drawing sessions via Tiverton Arts Society and our Director of Art acts as visiting speaker and judge at the annual Tiverton Art Society Open Competition.
· The Art School also supports, through curriculum training and visits, Uffculme School Art Department Head and Tiverton High School have been supported through visits to Blundell's School and return visits, to help target the percentage of top grades at GCSE.
· The Art Department are also currently exploring links with local Ex-Service women to attend Art classes to help with wellbeing and community links after having left the forces.
· Blundell’s School continue to play a role within the West Country Training School Alliance (WCTSA). We continue to work alongside over 10 maintained sector schools, primary and secondary as equal partners and contribute facilities and areas of expertise to help schools in the local area. We continue to host School Direct trainee teachers from the WCTSA across multiple departments and have supported Uffculme as the lead school with the interview process for selecting candidates.
· Two senior members of staff have also worked with Exeter University to lead sessions for trainee teachers in RS and PE prior to these trainees being placed in state schools across the South West.
The Blundell’s Garden
· The Garden Cabin is the base for Community Partnerships and is found in the Blundell’s Garden. The garden hosts numerous events each term including Garden Open Days and opening for the National Garden Scheme. Local schools are always part of the activities on offer which include taking part in the various RHS Campaign for School Gardening initiatives and our own horticultural, environmental, sustainability or well being focused activities.
Tiverton Town Council
· Every three months CAT Leaders give a presentation at the Full Town Council meeting to keep members up to date on the various initiatives that are constantly developing. Pupils present alongside their colleagues from Tiverton High School.
· The Town Council have been a great source of support, ideas and contacts and given financial support to our developing Loyalty Card.
Tiverton Town and our local community
· A Loyalty card is being developed to support local independent traders in the town. All members of the Blundell’s community will receive a card allowing them to benefit from various offers. There will be a charge for the card and the money raised will go to our Bursary Fund which is used to fund places for local children and therefore continue the wishes of our Founder, Peter Blundell, over four hundred years ago.
· We support, and work with several local organisations including Tiverton Rotary Club, Tiverton Civic Society, Tiverton Adventure Playground, Bounce! Brighter Futures (local mental health charity), Tiverton Hospital Wildlife Garden, Grand Western Canal, Tiverton Pannier Market, Tiverton Town Centre Coordinator, Sustainable Tiverton, Tiverton Tree Team and Tiverton in Bloom with new links and partnerships developing all the time. We are also working closely with the National Trust who run Knightshayes Court and manage Old Blundell’s School. This is the original school building from 1604 in the centre of Tiverton. The National Trust have exciting plans for the building as a community resource in the future and we are very much part of those.
· Our Spring term Field Day focuses on community engagement for our Year 12 with the last of these days seeing over 100 sixth formers supporting the work of ten different local organisations, many of which are listed above.
Use of facilities
· The School’s Estates Department have participated in the Mid Devon Playing Pitch Strategy.
· The school is also a Mid Devon Emergency Rest Centre
· 22 local school, youth groups and local clubs use our facilities sports, dance, yoga and fundraising activities including:
o Devon County Cricket and Hockey
o Action Research
o Tiverton Squash Club
o The Community Police Project
o Exeter Chiefs RFC
o England Rugby
o Lasercamp
o Kentisbeare FC
Charity
The Charity Committee coordinate whole school charity initiatives throughout the year and each of the boarding house supports their own chosen charities. The school charities we currently support are CHAT (Churches Housing Action Team), Hospiscare (providing end of life care), Little Heroes (provides holidays for families affected by childhood cancer) and The Bhambayi Project (empowering orphans and young children in South Africa.
· Between our seven Boarding Houses we support:
Edukid, sending out a giant parachute and a set of Dodgeballs to Cambodia from our home clothes day.
Children in Need
· Red Nose Day
· Save the Children
· School House (Year 7 and 8) dinner parties where pupils cook for their parents send the proceeds to the school charities.
· Force Cancer
· International Rescue Committee.
· Physical clothing donations were also made to local charity shops and to Thrift +
· Donations to CHAT at Christmas
· Devon Air Ambulance Trust
· Send a cow.
· Exeter neonatal unit
· Bristol children’s hospital The Grand Appeal
· Alzheimer’s Society
· MIND
· Tommy’s children’s charity
· Grow Baby - baby blankets were delivered to Tiverton maternity hospital.
· Breakfast on the Go
· Salvation Army, Give a Gift at Christmas who will distribute to local children through primary schools
· Tiverton Adventure Playground
· Margaret Allan Care Home – Flowerpots decorated and planted and handwritten letters for the residents
· Youngminds,
· Exmouth RNLI
· CLIC Sargent
