Courageous Advocacy

"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy." ~ Proverbs 31: 8-9

Jesus taught us to stand against injustice and be an ally and a friend to those in need. We provide opportunities for children to show how they can make a difference. We encourage children to donate their time to local causes and there are countless opportunities throughout the year for our children to arrange events and raise money for charities across many faiths.

Jesus said to us : Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and Love your neighbour as yourself.’ ~ Matthew 22.36. We are driven by this great commandment to love God and our neighbours as ourselves. 

Here are just a few charities and organisations that we have raised money for as a school family:

• Sindhi Primary School, Nepal
• Project Zulu, Kwa-Zulu Natal
• Christian Aid
• St Paul's Church, Bristol
• Westbury on Trym Community
• Hazelbrooke Care Home
• Sewa UK
• Tzedek UK
• Children in Need
• Red Nose Day

How are our children being Courageous Advocates for God?

BBC Sounds

Click below to hear one of our Year 6 pupils participating in a church service broadcast live on Radio 4 on Sunday 27th September.  Matthew used his voice to raise awareness of climate change and how we should all respect God's world.  

Triathalon- Restless Development UK

We are so proud at Westbury of our yearly Triathlon, raising awareness and funds for Restless Development UK. Seeing the incredible spirit of teamwork this event encourages is pushing more and more to take part each year, and in 2024, we have over 130 children involved.

Sophie, one of Yr6 pupils is taking part for her second year. She said, “It’s raising money for a good cause, and there is such an amazing team where we all care for and support each other. I wanted to do it again to help others. My best moment so far was proving myself wrong. I was exhausted and didn’t think I could swim anymore! I heard my team cheering me on, and suddenly the tiles beneath me were going really fast!”

Sophie also went an extra mile, and arranged a further fundraising event with her parents and gathered members of the local community to run some stalls to increase funds raised. Super inspiring work, Sophie!

Nepal- Singdi School Partner School

Since 1999, our school has proudly fostered a deep and enduring partnership with Singhdi, a school nestled in the heart of Nepal. Throughout the year, we regularly fundraise for uniform, school supplies and new buildings for our beautiful partnership school. Over Easter, several of our parents and children were able to visit Singdi to meet some of the teachers to further strengthen relationships and support in development of the school buildings. See the slideshow below to see what they got up to.

Singdi Nepal

Project Zulu, South Africa

We have been working with an education charity, who are based in South Africa, where one of our class teachers volunteered in 2018. Project Zulu supports a collection of township schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal and helps to deliver education through teacher training and music. As a thank you for our fundraising efforts, we were so lucky to have a visit from Jobstown Primary School in Madadeni.  Ngiyabonga, PZ! We can’t wait to keep fundraising with you.

See the video below and enjoy their incredible voices.

Westbury on Trym Community Fair

Our Westbury singers perform at the annual Westbury on Trym Community Fayre, and we reach so many members of our community with our tunes!

Westbury Fields

We have strong links with our local nursing home, and we love visiting our friends at Westbury Fields to perform and sing at special times like Christmas & Easter. We also enjoy writing pen-pal letters with some of the residents and always learn so much from them.

‘Rock Your Socks’ Down Syndrome Day 

ROCK Your SOCKS! Every year on March 21st, people all around the world come together to celebrate World Down Syndrome Day by wearing brightly coloured, mismatched socks.

March 21 is symbolic because people with Down syndrome have 3 copies of their 21st chromosome. Socks were chosen because the karyotype of Ds chromosomes actually looks like mismatched socks!

On March 21, 2024, the Down Syndrome Association all over the world will be celebrating World Down Syndrome Day. Together we will create a single global voice advocating for the rights, inclusion, and well-being of people with Down syndrome in our schools, community, and around the world. 3/21, World Down Syndrome Day, was selected to signify the uniqueness of the triplication (trisomy) of the 21st chromosome which is Down syndrome.

A thankyou to Carlson for running a colouring competition across school.  

Protect the Planet (Premier League)

On Tuesday 21^st November, four members of the Eco Team were invited to take part in the Premier League Protect the Planet Event 2023 - hosted at Liverpool FC's stadium,  Anfield.  The children participated in a range of activities and workshops focussing on climate change and sustainability. They were also able to listen to, and work alongside, inspirational role models within football and sustainability. The children represented the school fantastically and spoke confidently when sharing our Youth Social Action Project with the other groups from around the country. Thank you to Frazer (Bristol Rovers) for helping us with this wonderful project and a big well done to Jack, Zack, Lara and Roisin.