On 6th December, Year 5 boys at Papplewick School, Ascot, took all the football boots donated by leavers and the pairs they have outgrown and cleaned them up. They wrote a Christmas note to children in Eastern Europe who are keen footballers but do not have the money to buy proper football boots.
In total the boys cleaned over 100 pairs, which will be flown out to various poor and deprived areas of Europe by the MT Foundation, a charity founded in 2013 by Marianna Tomasevic to give less privileged children the chance to play in proper football boots.
Tom Bunbury, Headmaster at Papplewick, said: “Every year we have discarded boots from those who’ve left or outgrown their football boots. The boys were delighted to be able to clean them up and give them to a disadvantaged child at Christmas time.”
About Papplewick http://www.papplewick.org.uk
Papplewick is a day, weekly, and full boarding preparatory school for around 200 boys between the ages of 6 and 13. Situated in 15 acres of land opposite Ascot Racecourse in Berkshire, Papplewick has an excellent record for academic achievement and feeds many of the UKs top independent senior schools including Eton, Harrow, Winchester, Wellington, Stowe and Bradfield.
In the last two years the school has maintained its academic record, gaining no less than 22 awards to top independent schools, including a King's Scholarship to Eton. Through its strong commitment to sports, the school also builds skills of teamwork, sportsmanship and responsibility.
As well as academic, sporting and cultural excellence, Papplewick aims to provide boys with the confidence and security they need to fulfil their potential, and the school strives to promote enthusiasm for life, contribution to the community and kindness to others amongst all its pupils.
A recent (2013) report by the Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) remarks that relationships between pupils and teachers are an outstanding strength of the school and are seminal in creating the strong sense of a mutually supportive and trusting community.