Fundraising


‘WE PUT OUR NEW THEATRE IN THE LIMELIGHT WITH A £34,000 FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN’


‘F


urze Platt Senior School is in an area where student numbers are rising, and we are one of several academies


that have received funding for expansion and improvement to accommodate this increase. Our local authority (the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead) provided around £8million to create a new teaching block and school hall. The icing on the cake was a plan,


developed by our school and governors, to make the new hall a multi-use space that could be transformed into a theatre


both for the school and the wider community. This required an additional £34,000 on top of monies that the school was able to commit, and so the New Hall Theatre campaign was born. It was led by our PTFA, which, as


a registered charity, was able to claim gift aid on donations. We used the crowdfunding website DonateMySchool to build our appeal, create content for our publicity and help us with ideas to boost our fundraising potential. Our theatrical vision was to install state-of-the art retractable seating for


448 people, as well as a production lighting desk and facilities, audio trolley mixer and loudspeakers, curtains and high-quality projection. The idea was to offer incredible opportunities for students in our new performing arts department (created from a merger of drama and music) and for those taking our new curriculum addition of GCSE dance. It would also provide options for studying technical theatre skills. As one of the largest venues in


Maidenhead, the New Hall Theatre could double up as a community asset,


FundEd AUTUMN 2020 33


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