From the Nominator

"The student fundraising board at the Royal Latin School set a hugely ambitious challenge in 2020: to make a significant and memorable contribution to the school's multi-year capital fundraising programme, the 600 Campaign.

Phase Two--delivering a brand new £3 million sports campus--needed help getting over the line by its July 2021 deadline. Aiming to raise £20,000--by state school students aged 11-18 years--was a huge feat in one academic year, not least a year fraught with problems from the pandemic. But the student leaders successfully engaged the student body, devising an engaging multi-faceted campaign glued together under one overarching programme: the Race to 600. They achieved a 900% increase in student fundraising compared to previous years and created unprecedented amounts of energy to achieve their goal.   

The Race to 600, a play on words to link to both the school's upcoming 600th Anniversary and very tangibly to the £600 each form group was tasked with raising, was launched virtually by video, email, and social media in autumn 2020. It concluded with the team overachieving their already ambitious target by 60%, including match-funding from an alumnus and local business owner.  

The impact was not just about the funds raised, but garnering refreshed attention and drive amongst the whole community. Regional press and businesses took note, wanting to get involved, not least a major investor who was suitably inspired to ensure the sports campus was able to come to fruition through a partnership arrangement."

From the Judges

This was clearly a student-led initiative with just a small staff team to support them. Its purpose and goals were clear, as were the results. The students’ ideas about awards, organizing themselves, and meeting the challenge were impressive. And perhaps most remarkable was that so much of this had to be done in spite of COVID. The application was very well done--clear and concise. Congratulations!