A day at the end of the Summer term is always set aside for the Upper Fourth girls to go out into our local community to volunteer their time to help others. With Covid restrictions still in place, the volunteering was limited to outside work but fortunately there was no shortage of ways that the girls could make themselves useful on outdoor projects. At the Thatcham Memorial Hall, girls sanded down the railings around the War Memorial and although it was not possible to paint them as planned due to the inclement weather, we are told that the local Scout group will be able to finish the job. There was plenty of litter picking to be done around the playing fields and another group pulled weeds out around the tennis courts and planted up the pots around the site with flowers. By the time they left, the whole area was looking much smarter!

Another group set off for Westrop Farm in Cold Ash where they helped to clear the bridle path and footpath, cleared and weeded the camping area and then came back to School to do some more work on the School garden.

Thatcham Discovery Centre also benefited from a team of girls who worked hard on tidying up the outside areas around the Visitor Centre and Cafe.

At Thirtover Place which is the home of the Girlguiding Royal Berkshire, a group of girls were set to work cleaning out the groundsheets in the bell tents in the tented village and clearing the moss from around the house. The girls also washed the picnic tables and benches and even got involved in painting the craft room.

All in all, the girls did a good day’s work and the outdoor spaces in Cold Ash and Thatcham were definitely looking better thanks to their efforts. A huge thank you to all the staff who organised and accompanied the girls.