THE Parent Teacher Association (PTA) at Ilkley Grammar School is urging the local community to back a new fundraising appeal after missing out on £10,000 worth of income due to the coronavirus lockdown.

The PTA is a committed group of individuals who work hard all year to raise additional funds for the school to enhance the enrichment and education of all students. Each year the PTA supports a range of projects that the school would otherwise struggle to fund within existing budgets.

In past years, the PTA has funded such things as the IGS Bursary (available to provide financial assistance to students who otherwise would not be able to afford to participate in trips and enrichment opportunities); the provision of dining furniture for the dining hall in the new Armitage building; the refurbishment of various areas of school; DofE equipment; and SEN resources, to name but a few.

Jane Wearing, Chair of the PTA, said: “Under normal circumstances, summer term is a very busy term for the PTA. We had plans to organise five events this summer - three car boot sales, our annual Auction of Promises and our inaugural Colour Rush.

"Sadly, these have all had to be cancelled due to the coronavrius lockdown. As a consequence, it is likely that this year we have missed out on approximately £10,000 of fundraising income. This would normally have been used to help support a range of key school projects.”

This coming year, the PTA is hoping to support three aspects of school life:

• to help fund further enhancement of the student mental health/wellbeing support that is already provided, in anticipation of an expected increase in demand over the coming months.

• the provision of outdoor furniture and ‘awnings’ to provide increased shelter for students in anticipation of an increased use of outdoor space over the coming year given the likely need for continued social distancing.

• to provide money for paint to provide a ‘facelift’ to areas of the school.

With this in mind, the PTA has decided to set up a GoFundMe fundraising account in the hope of raising the £10,000 that would otherwise have been raised in order to support these important school projects. The link can be accessed at: http://www.gofundme.com/f/IGS-PTA-2020-appeal.

Jane added: “The PTA was so disappointed not to be able to run our usual calendar of events this summer. They were all events that we felt confident the whole Ilkley community would have got behind – car boots are always well attended; we also get enormous support with auction donations from many local businesses; and we were expecting hundreds to sign up for our inaugural ‘Colour Rush’ which should have been a fantastic family event.

"We hope that our local community will feel able to support the PTA instead through our GoFundMe page. Of course, we appreciate that Covid has caused significant financial hardship to many in the Ilkley area and absolutely understand if making a donation isn’t possible. However, we would be very, very grateful for any donations, however small.”

For further information about the Ilkley Grammar School PTA please contact them at PTA@ilkleygs.co.uk