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26 May 2021
Portsmouth High School’s outgoing Head Girl team presented a cheque for £3,405.71 to Samantha Straker from The Elizabeth Foundation.
‘We were so pleased to raise this amount as The Elizabeth Foundation is such an amazing charity in our local area,’ said Head Girl Charlotte Kellagher, 18 . ‘As a year group we all worked so hard to put on a set of successful events throughout the year, despite much of it being spent in lockdown. Our motivation was always to raise as much money as we could for a worthy cause as well as engaging the whole school in activities together.’
The Elizabeth Foundation was founded in 1981 by Shirley and David Metherell, whose daughter, Elizabeth, was diagnosed as profoundly deaf at 22 months. In response to a lack of local services, Shirley and David set up The Elizabeth Foundation to support other parents of young children with hearing loss. The charity they established has gone from strength to strength over the ensuing years.
The majority of the amount of just under £3.500 was raised during Charity Week which usually takes place each November. The culmination of Charity Week is a two night Fashion Show but the week took place in 2020 with a slight twist. The Fashion Show, due to COVID-19, was put online for parents, the girls and staff to enjoy.
The theme was A Night at the Movies and the girls wrote their own choreography for the walks and dances, hosted the event and encouraged donations to The Elizabeth Foundation. Walks included show stoppers from Sister Act, The Greatest Showman, Mamma Mia!, Love Actually and The Lion King. The staff joined in the fun and put together a walk based on popular songs.
Charity Week at Portsmouth High School has been running for over 25 years and is always organised entirely by the Sixth Form. Led by the Head Girl Team, the girls use business acumen and entrepreneurial skills to negotiate with local shops and liaise with local businesses to put on the show. Despite being online, It was a glittering success and raised thousands of pounds for the girls’ chosen charity, The Elizabeth Foundation.
Samantha Straker, Fundraising Coordinator for The Elizabeth Foundation, said:
‘I think the girls have managed to organise a very successful fundraising campaign given the constraints that they have had to work with this year with social distancing restrictions. We are incredibly grateful for their support and to all those who have given so generously to support their fundraising journey.’
Head of Sixth Form, Mr Rob Smith, added:
‘The girls did a tremendous job. Their fashion show was truly special and was delivered with their customary ‘can do spirit’ and brilliant sense of fun.’
