Dear Friends of Ripon Grammar School,
It’s hard to believe that it is several months since I was last able to write to you, that it is already almost July and so is therefore only a few weeks to the end of another school year and the prospect of a well-earned, relaxing summer holiday…
The last few months have been strange indeed, in all sorts of ways and for many different reasons – so let me start by saying I, and the whole Friends of Ripon Grammar School (FRGS) organisation, hope that for the main, and notwithstanding the demands of home-schooling (we’ll never take our teachers for granted again!), you have all managed to stay safe (and sane)!
For our part, we were expecting to be busily preparing for the final fundraising effort of the year this week, the Big Quiz. Our aim was to have been able to achieve (or at very least be very close to) our £15,000 classroom refurbishment project target, so that the geography classrooms could be refurbished over the summer holidays ready for the start of the new school year in September.
However, as a result of the unprecedented measures taken to avoid the spread of Covid-19, not only have exams been cancelled, but we have all missed out on the Fashion Show and prom dress competition, the RGS Summer Raffle (which has been our main fundraiser for many years) and now, unfortunately, the Big Quiz finale.
But (and it’s a big ‘but’!), we have never gone down without a fight and now is not the time to start. Instead, we are holding an online quiz (imaginatively named the Big Quiz Live Online!) and have set up an online giving page to help bolster our funds.
Over the last few months everyone has no doubt had plenty of practice, participating in various online quizzes – whether just with friends and extended family or within clubs, societies or just generally online with other like-minded quizzers. Whatever your level of ability, we’d like you to take a little time to join us and try to push the funding thermometer up and hopefully over the target level.
The quiz is open to everyone – whether directly connected to RGS or not. To take part in the quiz you need to be on the Friends of Ripon Grammar School Facebook page at 7.30pm on Friday 10th July, and to make a donation you follow the link on the Facebook page or search www.goldengiving.com for Friends of Ripon Grammar or FRGS
And, to all those non-quizzing families feel as though you have missed out on a good deed by not buying your usual allocation of raffle tickets this year, you can still make a donation to the Friends through goldengiving. Please give if you are able to – every penny counts and, in the end, all our fundraising is solely for the benefit of all our children.
We hope you are able to participate in the “BQLO” and are looking forward to welcoming you back (in person) to one of our events next year. We hope you all stay safe and enjoy the summer holidays.
Best wishes,
Tracy Butterfield (Chair of FRGS)