EdufundUK are delighted to award Oxhey Wood Primary School in Watford an Arts award to take their pupils to see Matilda in the West End.
This was a difficult decision for us as we have to have a very good reason to fund trips. Our difficulty lies in balancing value-for-money against the educational value of the trip and the longevity of its benefits.
In this special case, Kerry Kent, Assistant Head, explained that their school is in the top 5% of deprivation in the UK. Many of their children (and parents) have never travelled out of the Watford and many children have never been on a train, let alone to the theatre and many have no more ambition than to “stay at home like my mum”.
Matilda is an ideal show as it will bring their topic work of Heroes and Villains to life and generate enthusiasm for all the arts in school. However, what really swung the decision for us was that the trip will show the children there is a huge, exciting world of opportunities beyond South Oxhey and hopefully fill them with aspirations.
As Kerry put it:
The trip will be remembered by the children FOREVER - longevity at its best!!