Sri Sathya Sai English Medium School, Kerala

The ‘India Appeal’ team at QE consists of a number of Sixth Form students whose work is co-ordinated by Miss Golding, who visited Vellanad in October 2007. The Appeal’s main target is to secure sufficient sponsorship to support the equivalent of a Queen Elizabeth’s form of 30 pupils throughout their full-time education in India.

Recent fundraising initiatives include:

• a Diwali sweet sale 
• a swimmathon in which the team of 10 students swam a total of 25km in the School’s Martin pool. The sponsorship for the swim secured in excess of £2000.
• a Founder’s day fete stall from which the campaign’s funds were bolstered by the sale of luxury fruits dipped in a chocolate fountain 

The partnership has now been established for eight years and the bond between Sri Sathya Sai and QE has been strengthened through the work of recent leavers; a number of Old Elizabethans have visited the Vellanad for work experience.

Support from pupils and parents at QE has helped the Sri Sathya Sai School to secure some remarkable developments in the last eight years. The School has moved from rented accommodation to a well-established campus and the School’s roll has increased each year so that it now stands at more than 400. The School’s campus is spread over about two acres, with five buildings, housing children in classes from kindergarten through to Year 12, the final school year in Kerala. Nonetheless, many of the facilities require substantial investment: classrooms are without electricity and some temporary classrooms are exposed to the elements, resulting in rain coming in over the half-built walls.

Queen Elizabeth’s currently sponsors 15 children who would normally have gone to a local government school where they would learn in the local language, Malayalam, and where the standards of educational provision do not match those that Sri Sathya Sai offers. Parents in the local community are understandably, therefore, very keen to send their children to the English Medium School. Just as pupils at Queen Elizabeth’s successfully compete against students from the very best schools in the country, so too pupils at the Sai School. They compete in local, state and national competitions and have an excellent record of winning or being placed very highly. They have trophies for their successes in a range of endeavours and students at the School have been extremely successful in public examinations irrespective of their backgrounds and despite the modest resources of the School. It is truly a credit to the very hard work of the staff and their belief that all children should have the opportunity to have a good education.

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The head teacher, Dr Supriya, the management team and all the staff have a very clear vision of how they want to continue to improve the lives of young people in India. They have plans to improve the facilities for the school so that children are not exposed to the weather in lessons, so that they have light to work by and a playground to run and play. With our continued support they will continue to strive to provide the facilities needed and the opportunities for the children who normally would not be afforded them.

If you would like to support this very worthy cause, please send a cheque to School for the attention of Miss Golding. Cheques should be made payable to QE Activities, with ‘India Appeal’ written on the reverse.

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