BEING GIVERS, NOT TAKERS IN OUR COMMUNITY

Giving Back at Battersea

At Thomas’s Battersea, we believe in providing an opportunity for families to give back. As a school community, we are streamlining our school-wide fundraising to build a focused and sustainable giving strategy with Thomas’s Foundation (a Charitable Incorporated Organisation established in 2018, is the charitable arm of Thomas’s London Day Schools). While private fundraising remains separate, this unified approach connects our parents, alumni and local community around shared goals.

Giving Back at Battersea encompasses our tenth and final value – Givers, Not Takers – as well as the community’s ethos of giving, and it is made up of two strands:

1. Thomas’s Battersea initiatives, funded by Thomas’s Foundation

  • Bursaries
  • Thomas’s Battersea Pathway
  • Thomas’s Battersea Pathway Dance

2. Local Community partnerships

  • Katherine Low Settlement
  • Westbridge Academy
  • Falconbrook Primary School

Fundraising initiatives throughout the year, from one-off donations to standing orders, goes towards these two strands. These initiatives also provide valuable opportunities for members of the community to volunteer and help on the ground. Whether it be supporting elders at the Katherine Low Settlement or becoming a reading volunteer at Westbridge or Falconbrook, there are opportunities for everyone.

Funds raised are split between the two strands, with the majority going towards Thomas’s Battersea Bursaries, and the Pathway and Pathway Dance initiatives. The remaining funds raised go towards helping fund projects with our community partnerships.

Bursaries

Bursaries at Thomas’s Battersea are designed to be truly life-changing, expanding access to our school and ensuring pupils receive full support throughout their journey. Previous bursary recipients have successfully progressed to top London day schools and leading UK boarding schools at 13+ on full bursaries.

Our current ambition is to secure 100% funding for our ongoing bursary places, which support two pupils in Year 7 and two in Year 8. Because we believe this is where giving back begins, the majority of our fundraising initiatives are dedicated directly to this cause.

These efforts are driven by the Thomas’s Battersea Development Board, a group of parent volunteers from across different year groups who lead on our fundraising efforts. To learn more or to get involved, please contact the Thomas’s Battersea PTA at batpta@thomas-s.co.uk.

Meet Ammanuel

Ammanuel Desta

Former Thomas's Battersea Pupil

Ammanuel Desta
Former Thomas's Battersea Pupil
Joining Thomas’s Battersea in Year 7 on a full bursary transformed Ammanuel’s trajectory. Within weeks, he was thriving, making friends, diving into school life, and landing the lead role of ‘Prospero’ in The Tempest, the school play that year. That foundation launched a remarkable journey. Ammanuel progressed to Dulwich College on a full bursary, followed by Oxford University, where he studied Law and completed a Master’s degree in Criminology. Today, he returns to speak at school events, championing the programme that made it all possible.

Thomas’s Battersea Pathway

Established in 2019, this initiative gives high-achieving Year 5 pupils from local schools the opportunity to explore core subjects in greater depth. Nominated by their headteachers and eligible for Pupil Premium, children attend sessions one Saturday morning a month. Led by Thomas’s Battersea teachers, the curriculum spans English, mathematics, and science. Crucially, we also guide families through 11+ secondary school options and bursary opportunities.

Thomas’s Battersea Pathway Dance

Pathway Dance invites local children, recommended by their headteachers to discover the joy of movement. Meeting one Saturday morning a month, students explore ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance while learning to craft their own choreography. This creative journey culminates in an exciting December performance for families, friends, and teachers.

To find out more about Thomas’s Foundation, click here.

Local Community Partnerships

Katherine Low Settlement (KLS)

Thomas’s Battersea is proud of its long-standing partnership with Katherine Low Settlement (KLS), a much-loved local charity that has been at the heart of Battersea since 1924.

Just a short distance from our school, KLS brings people together across generations and backgrounds. Its work includes supporting older people in Battersea, children, young people and families from refugee and migrant backgrounds, and adults developing their English and other skills. Through practical support, learning, activities and opportunities to connect, KLS helps people build confidence, overcome barriers and feel part of their community.

Our relationship with KLS gives Thomas’s pupils meaningful opportunities to put our values into action. Over the years, pupils and families have volunteered, fundraised and taken part in activities bringing our two communities together. A particular highlight is our annual KLS Tea Party, when older members are welcomed to Thomas’s for an afternoon of tea, conversation and entertainment from our pupils.

The partnership is about more than giving. It enables our pupils to build relationships with people of different ages and life experiences, understand the community around them and see first-hand what it means to contribute to it.

Find out more about KLS via their website here.

Partnership Schools

Westbridge Academy and Falconbrook Primary School are our two partner schools. Our ongoing support includes renovating the library, donating books, and funding school trips. To enrich the curriculum and engage families, we also arrange author talks, science workshops, and parent volunteer reading programs.

To find out more please contact batpta@thomas-s.co.uk.

Where Next?

Thomas's Foundation Community