Sevenoaks School has released its inaugural Service and Partnerships report, celebrating the remarkable impact of staff and students in the past academic year.
The report reveals that more than 36,000 hours of voluntary service were dedicated to local and global communities in 2024/25. Highlights include partnerships with 32 local primary schools, reaching over 6,000 young people, and student-led fundraising of £25,000 for charities through concerts and events. Weekly Service sessions saw 523 Sevenoaks students engaged in projects ranging from teaching children in various subjects and activities, performing for older residents in care homes and supporting hospice patients with creative activities.
Many Sennockians are also involved with supporting the Riding for the Disabled (RDA) sessions at Bradbourne Riding and Training Stables. Jenna, an instructor at the stables, says: “The Sevenoaks students who volunteer with Bradbourne RDA provide an invaluable service to our group. Having the students has enabled us to provide support for a blind rider who needs someone so that she can orientate herself and eventually perform a dressage test.”
The school’s global outlook is equally strong. Students now connect weekly online with organisations in Bali, Laos and Ukraine, delivering English lessons and cultural exchange.
Kathy O’Donnell, Director of the Institute of Service and Partnerships at Sevenoaks School, comments: “Service teaches young people so much about the world and their place within it. Our Service and Partnership programme offers a diverse range of outward-thinking and facing activities which are integrated into each year group’s curriculum. “Our objective is to support our students to become rounded and grounded young people with a true social conscience. From fundraising for international charities through student-led events to mentoring Kent primary school children and working with local hospice patients, our staff and students are making such a difference.
“For me, one standout example from this year is the newly formalised ENGin Society, initiated by Adam and Simba, which has linked 40 Sevenoaks students to help more than 80 Ukrainian students to learn English. Their story exemplifies the values we strive to cultivate through the Service programme — compassion, collaboration, and a bold sense of purpose.”
Read the report here.
