Dr Challoner’s High School has been educating girls in Little Chalfont since 1962 and is placed amongst the country’s top performing academic schools. It prides itself on offering the best possible education for its girls; with a tradition of excellence and a passion for providing a breadth of opportunity.
The priority has been preserving the first-class education it offers its girls and employing the best teaching staff. Due to long-term lack of adequate funding many of the school’s facilities have been neglected and were in desperate need of updating.
Alan Roe, Headteacher, Doctor Challoner's High School
The Governing Body put in place its phased Capital Development Plan to provide the modern facilities that the school urgently needed and, more importantly, the girls deserved. Alan Roe, the school’s Head, and the Governing Body appointed HUTT&CO to undertake an in-depth Feasibility Study in early 2017 to test the viability of Phase 1 of its Plan to provide a new Art & Technology Centre, two science laboratories, a Modern Foreign Languages classroom and an upgraded Music Suite.
The Feasibility Study tested if the projects within Phase 1 were seen as urgent and compelling amongst the school community, an achievable fundraising target, if there were individuals who could champion the school’s campaign. The Study was positive and the School engaged HUTT&CO to both manage and direct its fundraising campaign to raise £750,000 between April 2017 and February 2018.
Key to the success of the campaign was recruiting a high-calibre Campaign Board, made up with committed volunteers to provide the ‘heartbeat’ of the campaign. Directed and managed by the HUTT&CO team, the Board used tried and tested capital fundraising mechanics that resulted in them raising £835,000, far exceeding their original target.
The Campaign Board, chaired by Terry O’Regan (a parent and MD of Biogen), displayed huge amounts of energy, commitment and determination. The outstanding results of the campaign were due to the strength of leadership demonstrated by both the Campaign Board and School’s leadership.
As the campaign ended the Art & Technology Centre was already in use and the science labs were almost completed, ready for opening in September 2018. A great success story!