Harvest Donations 2023

Ashford School’s biggest ever collection of Harvest donations is on its way to help the community thanks to the efforts of two Sixth Formers.

Between them, Chloe and Izzy were such an inspiration to pupils at the Senior School in East Hill, that their donations of packaged food and personal items to FareShare is enough to create our Ashford School shield.

“The girls have made this a personal mission and their motivational skills and dedication has been quite remarkable,” said School Chaplain, The Reverend Richard Bellamy, who has been instrumental in establishing and developing Ashford School’s seven-year relationship with Ashford Food Bank.

Chloe and Izzy began working with Ashford Food Bank as part of their Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. They volunteered at the centre in Ashford sorting donations, packing boxes and loading them on to vans and lorries. As part of this, they were required by the Award to look at ways in which Ashford School could further its support of the Food Bank.

However, the girls went many steps further and took on the mission of spreading the message throughout the entire school. They gave talks to different year groups and started an advertisement campaign around the school. Each year group was tasked with donating a specific type of item and, just before half term, the girls co-ordinated the giving of donations by more than 400 pupils. They even designed and produced the Ashford School shield which they erected in the school grounds as a reminder of the importance of Harvest and giving.

“Volunteering at the Food Bank really opened our eyes to the extent of people’s needs,” said Chloe, who is hoping to study at Cardiff university. “To go beyond what was expected of us felt natural. We wanted to do what we could to help and, although it was a lot of work, it’s amazing that we’ve achieved our aim. Our school community has really risen to the challenge and has been incredibly supportive.”