One of the remarkable things that we nurture at JAGS is a generosity of spirit that crosses all boundaries of age, gender and background. Girls and staff work together to have fun and to raise awareness of people in need, at home and abroad. Whole school fund-raising brings out the best in our JAGS community with a sense of real excitement cascading from the sixth-form organisers to the youngest contributors. The Recycled Fashion Show in December 2008 raised £912 for The British Heart Foundation and for Iraqi Christians in Need, and the multicultural evening in January 2009, a vivid celebration of our hugely diverse school community, raised over £1300 for two charities in which we are very involved as volunteers: Aylesbury Academic Grassroots and Kids Company. As well as this, JAGS sold Poppies for the British Legion in 2008 and raised £643 for Comic Relief in 2009.

Much of the enthusiastic activity that goes on in Houses is fund-raising for charity. Everyone votes to support a particular charity and each form is given a week in which to champion its cause. In 2008/9 Bettany chose to support Links India, Clarke chose Winston’s Wish, Desenfans chose The Dominican Friars in Kenya and Holst chose the Charlotte Baby Hospital.

You would expect JAGS girls to be creative in their ideas as to how to raise money. Of course we all love cake sales, car-washing and Christmas bazaars, and get an inner glow from the Valentine flower deliveries, but you should have seen the Pamper Parlours, the teachers Karaoke and University Challenge! Not that the year is over yet; we are still looking forward to three charity events, including the wonderful  sounding ‘All Things Bearded’ . It isn’t a competition, and the totals are inevitably smaller than the awareness raised.