Community help in action: The Portsmouth Grammar School Sixth Form donate 3000 hours of help

PGS pupils working with children at St George’s Beneficial C of E Primary School

Advertisement feature: Pupils at one of the leading schools on the south coast are volunteering to make Portsmouth a better place to live and work

Community, Action, Workplace is a fully immersive experience for Sixth Form pupils at The Portsmouth Grammar School as they take on long term volunteer placements in the city as part of their enrichment curriculum. Working on their projects each week the pupils have forged great relationships with other schools and organisations across the city.

“Community, Action, Workplace is an integral part of the Sixth Form Curriculum for all pupils,” said Miss Govina Basra, Co‑ordinator of Sixth Form Partnerships. “It is aimed to not only equip pupils with new knowledge and skills, but to also make positive use of their existing skill set.

“It's about making pupils more aware of the world around them, and to encourage them to apply their talents and interests to make a difference. They've benefitted not only themselves, but the local community around them; society is changing, and CAW gives pupils an opportunity to make a positive change.”

PGS pupils working at Second Chance Children’s Charity

Working with professionals

This academic year PGS pupils have worked on a project with Shaping Portsmouth, updating their website by creating a 'charity board', enabling charities to reach out with requests for professional help e.g., an electrician or a plumber, and allows individuals from various professions to volunteer to do the job and give 'hours' via the platform.

“Due the current climate and cuts in funding for charities, they can’t always afford to pay professionals for various services,” continues Govina. “The board offers a way that professionals can give back to the city and charities can continue functioning via their voluntary support.

“Our pupils created the whole service from scratch and added it to the Shaping Portsmouth website, it'll hopefully go fully live shortly and will be of great use to charities throughout the city.”

Govina Basra, Co‑ordinator of Sixth Form Partnerships at PGS

Supporting younger children

Sixth Form pupils have also been working on literacy and mathematic support programmes for pupils at Trafalgar School and Mayfield School as well as sport and enrichment activities at St George’s Beneficial C of E Primary School. Pupils have also continued a long-term partnership PGS have with Second Chance Children’s Charity – they have been designing and renovating the pre-school experiences area of the farm including making a bug hotel, developing a pond space, a picnic area, improving the play garden, building a hobbit house, and creating a water wall.

“The pupils in Sixth Form have contributed over 3000 hours of volunteering across 16 organisations in the city over the last year,” said Mr David Wickes, Head of The Portsmouth Grammar School. “Being part of city life in Portsmouth is very much valued by us and as we approach our 300th anniversary in 2032 we are looking forward to finding more opportunities for our pupils to engage with the richness of this city and its many communities.”

Find out more about The Portsmouth Grammar School at www.pgs.org.uk