We have been celebrating Partnerships Week and reflecting on the ever-widening links that Mount Kelly has established with the local, national and international community.
From providing scholarships to inner city students via the Cumberland School Partnership, to sponsoring the local Tavistock Christmas lights, no two years are ever the same. As we reflect on the last 12 months, we see that Mount Kelly is an integral thread in the fabric of life around us.
Clubs
Thanks to the School’s venues and facilities we regularly host a variety of local community clubs:
- Tavyside Badminton
- Moorland Maidens (local women’s cricket clubs)
- Tavistock Netball
- Buckland Monachorum Cricket Club
- Brenden Worth Cricket Hub
- Tavistock Cricket Club Tavistock Hockey
- Bere Alston Youth FC
- Horrabridge FC
- Horrabridge Walking Football
- Stannary Brass Band
- Tavistock Choral Society
- Dartmoor Velo (local cycling club)
Mount Kelly Swim Centre
Our Mount Kelly Swim Centre has seen over 70,000 public attendances, which included:
- 1K individual aquarobics sessions
- 500 swimmers learning to swim
- 450 swimmers from 15 swimming clubs at residential camps
- 200 club swimmers at two Swim School camps
- 40 lifeguards and 12 coaches qualifying
- 27 visiting clubs and organisations
- 17 primary schools enjoying swimming lessons
- Seven galas and events
And we have plenty of room and availability to welcome more. Mount Kelly warmly invites the local community to come along for a swim, or to use our grounds, sports facilities and venues for private or sporting events and clubs.
Staff activities
Our 227-strong staff team, 86% of whom are local and live within a 15 miles radius of the School, are active in local community activities. They share their sporting skills with football, hockey, cycling and athletics clubs; volunteer at local schools and community centres and teach English as a second language.
A recent initiative is the Mount Kelly Reward Card, a scheme to encourage Mount Kelly staff, pupils, parents and Governors to support local businesses, who have offered a range of discounts and promotions to Mount Kelly stakeholders.
Pupils
We offer means-tested bursaries for approximately 10% of our pupils. We also offer a wide range of scholarships, which provide young people who show talent, potential, and the desire to learn, an education which will give them confidence and ambition to succeed in life. Assessment dates for new entries in September 2024 are open now.
Thanks to the generous support of our alumni, the Old Mount Kelleians, and parents, we also support deserving pupils to complete their A Levels in Sixth Form over two years, which includes a partnership with Cumberland Community School in the Borough of Newham.
Meanwhile, Mount Kelly pupils are active in the community with maintenance of Yelverton Play Park, litter picking across Tavistock Town Centre, working at the Tavistock Memory Café or Tavistock Refillery. They share their art, from creating a mural in the Tavistock Area Support Services cafe, to painting poppies for the Princetown Poppy Project; and they are particularly active with sharing musical performances with local retirement homes and other community events, including Remembrance Day Concert and the Mount Kelly Choral Society.
Their tremendous charity efforts across the School also raised over £21K last year.
“Partnership is a core objective of our Strategic Plan and integral to the pattern of our School life”, said Guy Ayling, Head Master. “Beyond the direct economic impact that our School has on the local area, we seek through our Partnership Programme to place Mount Kelly firmly within a network that enhances the educational experience of our pupils and ensures the School is a force for good beyond its own walls.”
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