St Anne’s School and Sixth Form College Spring Ball an ‘amazing success’ as £11,000 raised

A fundraising ball on behalf of St Anne’s School and Sixth Form College has been hailed ‘an amazing success’ after sales from tickets and an auction on the night raised £11,000.

It was the first time such an event had been held to raise money for the award-winning Welton school, with the funds raised going towards upgrading its residence facility, which enables children to stay at the school, often giving parents much needed and valued respite.

The growing school, which has won national recognition for its work in supporting children with Autism, currently has 144 pupils aged 2 to 19 and has 18 residence beds which are used by over 40 young people over a seven day period.

Governor Sue Larter became involved with St Anne’s School when she moved her son, who is diagnosed with Autism, Global Developmental Delay and Hypotonia, from a mainstream primary in 2013.

She told the dinner she was looking for an education that fitted her son, rather than put him in a place that he had to fit into, and knew she had made ‘ exactly the right decision’ when looking around the school for the first time.

She said: “It is such a special place. The children are happy at the school and as a parent I could not have asked for more understanding and support. It was the right place for my son, the right place for us as a family, and I know all other parents feel the same.

“The residence element of the school is so important. It provides parents with much needed rest from all the pressures that come with being a parent of a child who does need that extra level of care. Most importantly, the children love it. They can’t wait to come.

“The success of the Spring Ball has been amazing and the money raised was well beyond what we could have hoped for. People were so generous and it will make a big difference.”

The school has been rated as ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted’s education inspectors, who said pupils have outstanding personal development, resilience, social and emotional skills. The social care inspection of the residential facility also confirmed its outstanding status.

It has also secured a National Autism Accreditation Award, with a special commendation, has links with local primary schools and colleges, and its own two enterprises - a weekly café and a fruit and vegetable shop.

Geoff Ogden MBE, chair of the Governors, spoke on the night and told how the school had taken the decision to remove ‘special from its title’. He urged employers to leave with the understanding that many of the pupils are ‘hugely employable’ and would ‘be a great asset to their businesses’.

Generous support for amazing work

Nick Ward, joint managing director of main event sponsors EYG, was delighted with the success of the evening, and the support of other local businesses including Hobson & Porter, Wastege, HBP Systems, ALUK, Bambu Community, Church Gate, MKM, Jelf Insurance, Rollits, Smailes Goldie Group and Paul Dry Motorfix.

Auction prizes, including an executive box at a Hull City home game, a laptop, a round of golf for four at Celtic Manor and a donation towards Smile by The Sea, which provides short respite breaks for charities to refer their beneficiaries to, were snapped with a total of £4,750 being donated for the lots.

“It was fantastic to see so many people come out and support the night, and to see local businesses digging deep by sponsoring the event and then bidding so generously during the auction to raise such a significant amount of money,” said Mr Ward.

“We were keen to help the school raise essential funds to support the amazing work they do for children and their families, and we are already looking at supporting The Friends of St Anne’s Special School Fundraising Committee to make this an annual event given the success we had.”