Stage Appeal 2022

Dear Colleague,
If you attended the dinners in 2018 and 2019, you might remember the references to (and the fundraising for) the school’s ambition to reinstate a permanent stage in the hall. Now, following a tendering process involving 3 specialist companies, the school has a preferred bidder, detailed costs and an initial deadline of July this year. This time we are determined to succeed !

The aim is to install a stage to match exactly the existing oak parquet tiles (1935 vintage) with space underneath the stage for the storage of temporary staging units (metrodeck) which will extend the performance area. In addition there will be a technology upgrade. This project is a crucial first step in a much needed overhaul of performing arts facilities and will benefit the school in the following significant ways by:

 

• providing modern, integrated, and flexible multi-media staging for music, drama and dance

• enhancing the appearance of the space, restoring harmony with the original design 

• creating a practical, impressive and flexible context for school events eg assemblies and open evenings and for community and other groups seeking to hire an attractive venue. 

The total cost will be £23,000. The school and current parents will also seek to raise funds. The £1,002 already raised at the dinners sits in a ring-fenced account with the RPHS Charitable Trust. If we reach our target, gift aid could increase the amount by £3,000.

The school‘s idea is to engrave 270 floor tiles ‘sponsored’ by former pupils - £50 each. This would raise £13,500. A trial floor tile engraving can be seen below with the suggested format. The attached form gives details of how to donate. Any amount to support this cause is welcome of course and an engraved tile is an option which we hope many of you will want to take up.

‘GOLD’ sponsorship costs £500 and, in addition to an engraved floor tile, your name will feature on a special ‘major sponsors board’.
 

 

 

The school would ideally like to ‘inaugurate the stage’ for the production of Bugsy Malone at the end of the summer term. So we need to make a prompt start to try to make this new stage a reality. Please support us and sponsor a tile for yourself and/or a friend or just contribute to a project which will make a BIG difference for the subject departments and the school as a whole. 

Now open the attachment for details of how to donate !

Colleagues working on this project on behalf of the society and the school’s charitable trust  (CT) are Ron Ribolla, chair of RPFPS, Marc Robinson, Head of Performing Arts, and Sam Barnard, Director of Operations, from the school, Margaret Tulloch, school governor and CT trustee and Ian Newman, former HT and secretary of RPFPS.