Opening Doors Dinner

Parents, alumnae and staff came together for our Opening Doors Dinner, raising £300,000 for our bursary campaign.

Serenaded with jazz by Sixth Form Music Scholar, Keira, guests were welcomed to a reception with cocktails provided by Heavensake and sushi from Sumi restaurant, before taking their seats in Waterlow Hall. The event bore testimony to the generosity of our school community; thanks to numerous sponsors and auction donors, every penny raised on the night will help fund pupils who could not otherwise afford a South Hampstead education.

On the evening, former bursary student Chloe Tartan (Class of 2007) shared the story of her life-changing experience: ‘My bursary completely redefined my destiny. Without this opportunity, my life would have been very different. I am no longer ashamed of who I am or where I come from. Instead, I stand proud knowing that my story is one of hope and resilience in the face of adversity.’

An animated game of ‘true or false’, presided over by our energetic MC for the night, Mr Hansford, was followed by dinner served by Harrison’s, our school catering team.  There was some frantic bidding on our silent and live auctions, as guests across the room made generous pledges to join our 1876 Society to support more means-tested bursary places.

Our aim is that at least 1 in 10 of our pupils can join the school with financial support.  Thanks to our community’s generosity, we are now a step closer to reaching this goal and able to offer transformative opportunities for many more bright young women.

Please take a moment to watch the speeches and the pupil bursary video from the evening.

To find out more about our bursary programme view the latest Bursary Newsletter.

If you would like to support our bursary campaign, please visit our support us pages or get in touch: development@shhs.gdst.net