BOUNDARY Oak School in Fareham has announced a partnership with three deserving charities.

The day and boarding school, located at the foot of the Meon Valley, will be supporting mental health charity Young Minds and Hampshire and IOW Wildlife Trust, as well as continuing to work with SSAFA, the UK's oldest national tri-service military charity.

Boundary Oak headmaster James Polansky said “Our partner charities this year – which our pupils have been involved in selecting - each reflect the ethos and spirit of Boundary Oak.

“The school is a home from home for the children of several military families, so SSAFA, who have been providing lifelong practical and emotional support to the Armed Forces family for over 130 years, are a charity particularly close to our hearts.

“We are lucky enough to be able to offer our pupils a fantastic outdoor learning programme, delivered through our Woodland School, open fields and other natural wildlife habitats within our grounds. We are working closely with the Hampshire and IOW Wildlife trust to integrate its vision of a ‘wilder future’ into our curriculum and look forward to supporting its work in the wider community.

“Finally, at Boundary Oak we are passionate about nurturing the mental and physical health of our pupils as they grow with us. Young people’s mental health and wellbeing has never been so important, and the role educators have to play in addressing this issue is paramount. For that reason, we are proud to be supporting the work of Young Minds, the UK’s leading charity fighting for children and young people's mental health.”

The school organises a number of fundraising events for its partner charities throughout the academic year, including autumn and summer social events for parents, selling homemade produce, and holding charity auctions.

However, the partnerships aim to be more than fundraising schemes – they are also about building pupils’ world view and forging links with the wider community.

They form part of the school’s ‘Pay it Forward’ vision, launched in 2018 to encourage an on-going cycle of kindness.

The initiative encourages staff and pupils to respond to acts of kindness by being kind to someone else in return, and sees pupils venturing into the community to do good deeds. From spending time with the elderly to helping friends in need, the campaign is set to spread cheer throughout the school and local area.