News and Community

Eco Initiatives

Oakfield pupils are concerned about environmental issues, and are aware of measures the school community can implement in order to help. We have an active group of elected pupils representing each class from Year 3 upwards, led by a senior Eco-Captain and overseen by Year 9 form teacher Jeanette Heugh. This group meets regularly, and decides on a whole range of “green” issues – from recycling initiatives to fundraising events in support of the WWF Endangered Species Campaign.

In the past year we have adopted a dolphin and an orang-utan, and have learned, through assemblies conducted by the girls, of the desperate plight of these and other wild animals. In 2006 our environmental campaigning was at a more local level, with the pupils lobbying the local county council to prevent an incinerator being built at a household waste site less than two miles from school. Their passionate letters were instrumental in the council’s decision to reconsider, and the site has since been rejected.

Building our Playground House

A recent project was to construct a small house in the school grounds made entirely of sustainable materials. Thanks to generous donations form parents and grandparents – in terms of both time and supplies – we now have a valuable extra play resource for the children.

Pyrford & Wisley Flower Show

Oakfield has been a frequent exhibitor at this high-profile local event, and we always look forward to welcoming pupils – past, present and future – to our stall. Our pupils enter a wide array of work into the arts and crafts section, both individually and submitted by the school, and have enjoyed many successes in art, textiles and poetry.

St. George’s Nursing Home

Every Autumn our Year 6 class gives a Harvest Festival concert for residents of St. George’s Nursing Home in Cobham, a care home for elderly sufferers of dementia and Alzheimer’s. The programme includes both secular and religious songs, as well as dance and poetry reading. The girls always enjoy meeting the residents, as well as performing to such an appreciative audience.

Charity Initiatives

Each year the Principal and Head Girls select a charity for the school to support via a number of fundraising initiatives, most notably a themed mufti day each term. This year we are delighted to be supporting Chase, a Guildford-based charity that helps children with limited life expectancy and their families. Chase has its own children’s hospice, Christopher’s, which receives no government funding and relies entirely on charitable donations. In the past we have raised money for the NSPCC, The Worldwide Fund for Nature, The Melanoma Foundation and The Shed, a local youth club for disadvantaged teenagers.