From unique crafts to delicious treats, the stalls were buzzing, the raffle was a huge success, and it was fantastic to welcome so many from the wider Kingham Hill family at our Christmas Fair on Friday 12th December.
Adding to the festive atmosphere, the Kingham Hill Choir sang beautiful carols, while Santa and Finn the Pony (come Reindeer) made an appearance, delighting pupils and visitors alike.
It was particularly heartening to see pupils so actively involved. Houses ran a variety of stalls, showcasing creativity and enterprise, including Severn House, who produced beautiful photo prints on canvas, alongside stalls selling Christmas cards, friendship bracelets, knitted goods, cupcakes and festive bakes, as well as hot chocolate, a popular hot dog stall, and face painting. Kingham Hill honey was also on sale and proved to be a firm favourite.
The raffle was a major highlight of the evening, featuring an exceptional selection of prizes generously donated by local and national supporters. These included a year’s membership to Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club, a Diddly Squat Farm hamper, a four-course lunch for two at the two Michelin-starred Hotel Café Royal, an overnight stay at The Bull at Burford, as well as a wonderful selection of hampers, vouchers, bottles and artwork.
We are delighted to share that the fair raised an incredible £6,210 for the Rafiki Thabo Foundation, supporting vital secondary education opportunities for young people in Uganda. This remarkable sum will fund a full secondary education for six children, or a full year of secondary education for 36 students.
“Being able to achieve a secondary education is a huge milestone in a child's life and has a massive impact on his or her future life opportunities, in terms of being able to continue onto higher education, and the kind of employment they will be able to find or their ability to start their own businesses.” commented the Rafiki Thabo Foundation. “The impact is multiplied for girls as there is also a huge body of evidence showing that girls with a secondary education are much more likely to marry when they are ready to do so, and bring up healthy children who are in turn much more likely to go to school.”
“Our Director, Janet Hayes, and Chair, Jon Uglow, also really appreciated the opportunity to talk at both lower and upper school assemblies, joined online from Kenya by Daina Kibera, our Programme Manager. We are so excited by this new school partnership and are quite simply bowled over by the support of KHS - thank you so much from everyone at the Rafiki Thabo Foundation.”
A huge thank you to our everyone who donated prizes, supported pupil stalls, attended the fair and bought raffle tickets. Your generosity has made a lasting difference, and we are already looking forward to next year’s Christmas Fair.