On Saturday (March 1), Raglan Primary School hosted its inaugural Community Shield Football fundraiser at the Bromley Rugby Football Club on Barnet Wood Road.
After successfully fundraising for their playground, this fundraiser was launched to raise money for other in-school facilities.
Headteacher Matt De Freitas told the News Shopper: “Two of the dads in our school – Mr Woods and Mr Diamond – are the catalyst for this fundraiser.
“They themselves don’t have children that access that provision, but they felt that it would be a really good contribution because we have a focus on promoting sport in the school.
“And, as a very community-oriented school, we decided to raise money by having a fundraiser with a parents and staff mixed-teams football event.”
The school didn’t want to go straight to the parents for funding aid, so they canvassed local businesses in the Chatterton Village area, getting support from the local microbrewery.
Matt added: “The local businesses bought a page of advertising on our Match Day Programme.
“The support we’ve received from them has been amazing.
“It typifies how brilliant the community spirit is in and around the school.
“We had a donation made to provide us with our Charity Shield, and this is an inaugural event.
“Hopefully, it’ll run next year.”
The fundraiser saw students from Raglan Primary School helping out, such as holding the fundraising buckets.
Matt said it was “wonderful” that the community spirit of the parents and local businesses was “overwhelmingly positive”.
The fundraising campaign aimed to raise £2,000, but the school had already hit that target before the football match.
Bromley Rugby Football Club sponsored the school with its raffle prize, having donated a team-signed shirt as a prize.
Planning for the event began in October with a hope for the event to take place in November, but due to weather restrictions, they chose to host it in March instead.
The football match saw the teachers come out victorious against the parents, winning 3-0.
The school’s post-match report said: “The opener came courtesy of Mr Sykes, who showed the kind of footwork that suggested he might be moonlighting as a PE teacher.
“Not to be outdone, his brother James added a second, leaving the parents wondering if there was something unfair about two Sykes’s on one team.
“But the real dagger came from none other than the Coach, who sealed the win with a strike so emphatic that even the parents had to applaud.
“The parents, meanwhile, battled valiantly but often looked like they were still trying to locate the syllabus, their game plan seemingly misplaced in a pile of unmarked homework.”
Matt added: “It was a real team effort, from the local businesses sponsoring the event and program, to the playing kits being donated, and the staff and parents working together to set up, play and run the day.
“We’re hoping that we could run this as an annual event rather than a one-off occasion.”
