In the community
At The Grange we believe that the school plays an important role, in both the local and wider communities.
We understand that we have a responsibility to those in the world around us, especially to those less fortunate. To this end we endeavour to make a positive impact to the lives of others in a wide variety of ways. These include raising large sums of money for local, national and international charities; working closely to help our sister school in the Gambia; volunteering in the local community; allowing access to our facilities, including sports fields and theatre; and working closely with local schools from the maintained sector, to improve the educational opportunities available to children in the area and beyond.
By working with the local community and encouraging our students to make a positive impact in the world around them, we not only help communities now, but prepare our students to be responsible citizens of the future.
Community Action Group
As a registered charity, The Grange understands the important role it plays in both the local and wider communities.
The Grange's "Community Action Group" was formed in January 2007. This is the first group of its kind at the Grange and since it began in 2007, the community work the group has been involved with has gone from strength to strength. Led by Mrs Hardy-Kinsella, pupils from all years have been working hard within the school and the wider community to help others a valuable contribution to the lives of others.
The Community in Action
Each week, up to 16 pupils lend a hand as volunteers with the Riding for the Disabled sessions run by the RDA, at the Sandy Lane Equestrian Centre.
The riding helps the children, with varying levels of disability, to rehabilitate and gain confidence.
Our pupils help by leading the horses, enabling the children to ride and also get stuck into keeping the yard tidy!
The School Community
For the 2nd consecutive year the Community Action Group welcomed 15 guests from the Leftwich Green Daycare Centre to a Christmas lunch at school
They served the fantastic food supplied by Mrs Marston and the team and then treated the guests to a festive medley of carols.
The Wider Community
Since 2007, the group has taken an active role in the Hartford Rose Fete, running stalls and raising money for the NSPCC.
With the help of Mrs Sunners and Mr Lambert the team had a massive turn out in 2008, all housed in a fantastic gazebo….thanks Miss Finnegan!
The sun shone and the group worked fantastically hard and raised over £150 for the NSPCC.
The most exciting project so far, the group joined up with The Grange Juniors, Hartford Manor Community Primary and Hartford High School to design a mosaic. As the first project of its kind between the Hartford schools, the mosaic depicts key images from the past, present and future decided and designed by the pupils. Included in the mosaic are the words "Hartford Our Community" a message we hope will stand the test of time and signals the start of schools working together as a community.
School facilities
The school strongly believes in offering the use of its excellent facilities to the local community, so that as many people as possible can benefit from them.
The 300 seater Grange Theatre is a relatively new addition to the school and provides an outstanding venue for performances of any nature. Over the course of the past two years many local groups and charities have used the venue, from the Hartford Choral Society to the charity ‘Regain' who held a concert to raise money for paralysed athletes. Please feel free to contact the Theatre with any enquiries or see what it can offer you by following the link below.
Local teams have also extensively used the school sports fields, especially football, for both training and matches. It is the home of the junior ‘mid-Cheshire' team, as well as hosting football trials for many other junior football teams. There are football, rugby, cricket and grass hockey pitches, as well as a pavilion that provides excellent changing facilities. If you wish to enquire about using the fields please feel free to contact the school, either via email or by phone.
Working with other schools
Although independent, at The Grange we strongly believe in developing links and working closely with other local schools to offer a wider range of educational opportunities to the young people of Cheshire.
Over the course of the last year the school has run projects such as; creating a mosaic for Hartford with students from Hartford High School; running free INSET for science co-ordinators from local primary schools; working on a joint Art project with Hartford High School; and working with other Cheshire Sixth Forms to prepare candidates for Oxbridge interviews.
We are constantly looking for new ways to improve the opportunities available to young people and during the next 12 months we are looking develop his area by; hosting a conference for local students of Religious Studies, work with local secondary schools in conjunction with an ‘author in residence', and invite local students to attend a range of talks we are having relating to Personal and Social Development.