A very special Christmas present was given to TGS before school broke up for the holidays, which was ‘an amazing tonic’ at a time when everyone was so concerned about Covid.
Online giant Amazon, which has a huge depot in Theale, donated an large amount of equipment, which arrived at school in January on the back of four fork-lift trucks!
Included in the very special delivery were:
- 68 large desks
- 156 chairs
- 2 adjustable height tables, for disabled use
- 2 wheelchairs
- 30 water filled barriers, used for separating areas
Deputy Head Charlotte Badarello explains what this welcome donation means to school: “It is just amazing. We’re so, so grateful to Amazon as it has allowed us to spruce up areas of the school. Like most schools, finances are always a challenge and we are always looking for innovative ways to improve the environment for students, but this was certainly an amazing surprise! The fact that we’ve been able to transform these areas is amazing.”
“Learning spaces are so important in terms of pupil engagement and with the Amazon donation we’ve been able to reinvigorate areas of the school much sooner than we might have. And the timing was ideal, particularly when you think about the period just before Christmas when everyone was very worried about Covid – it’s just an amazing tonic I think. On the back of the canteen expansion that happened over the summer, it’s just helping make the school a lovely space for students.”
The music room is one of the areas to benefit from the new furniture.
One of the areas to benefit from the new equipment is the music room. The donated desks are larger than normal, meaning they can accommodate large instruments like keyboards. Charlotte explains the donation came just as the music curriculum was undergoing a relaunch.
“At the same time as we were talking to Amazon we secured some extra funding, which meant that the music rooms, which were not a special place to be – just really tired and unwelcoming – could be decorated. We’ve also had new carpets and new lighting, so along with the new furniture it’s now really stunning and an area to make us feel really proud.”
“It also ties in with us welcoming our new Head of Music, Kate Coombs, who has just joined us and who will inject some real life in back into the music curriculum.”
Former TGS pupil Alex Tippett helped with the delivery.
Everyone at Theale Green School would like to extend their thanks to Amazon for its generous donation, especially Francesca Waite, Programme Manager, Community Operations at Amazon Logistics, who contacted the school about the equipment it wanted to donate. Thanks also go to the team who delivered the goods – including former Theale Green pupil Alex Tippett, who personally made sure the equipment was safely delivered to his former school! And of course a huge thank you to Theale Green School site staff who went ‘above and beyond’ in unloading and getting the new equipment in its new home.
