On Wednesday 3rd December, the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation (RNCSF) welcomed its Royal Patron, HRH The Princess Royal, alongside MPs and sector leaders in children’s social care and education to Church House, Westminster. The event celebrated RNCSF’s work in transforming outcomes for children and young people in, and on the edge of, UK social care, as well as those from underserved communities. More than 200 guests attended, including students from RNCSF partner schools, to hear from The Princess Royal, RNCSF Chairman, Nick Owen, and CEO, Ali Henderson.

It was a fantastic opportunity for our headmistress, Ms Jane Gandee, and a small group of St Swithun’s students who have benefitted from the school's partnership with RNCSF to attend this inspiring event. The focus was exploring how RNCSF can support sufficiency in children’s social care, help prevent children entering care, and strengthen kinship care arrangements to create more stable homes. Alumni speakers shared their personal stories, demonstrating the impact RNCSF has had for them directly in transforming their lives. The close partnership that St Swithun's has with RNCSF plays an important role in helping us to identify some of the girls who benefit from a transformational bursary place at the school, which are partly funded by the Bramston Foundation.

Claire, a lower sixth student and a Bramston bursaries ambassador, reflected on the experience: “I found the event to be a powerful visual representation of what it means to be a part of the RNCSF's community; people from all schools in the network coming together to celebrate their transformative work. It was touching to see HRH The Princess Royal as she addressed the room with motivational words to take into our future endeavours. All around you could see the positive impact of the RNCSF programme as we all proudly shared our experiences from our respective schools, experiences that were made possible through the investment into us from the bursary.” Aisling, a middle fifth student also highlighted the value of connecting with peers and meeting the Foundation's Royal Patron: " It was amazing to meet and rekindle relationships with other students benefitting from a bursary. It was also a great opportunity to meet The Princess Royal and have an engaging conversation with her."

RNCSF works with a network of more than 200 state boarding and independent day and boarding schools across the UK, helping them to match fully funded bursary places at these schools with young people facing barriers to opportunity. This breadth of provision enables RNCSF to match each young person with the educational environment best suited to their needs, interests and circumstances.

Through the transformational bursary programme, supported by fundraising from the Bramston Foundation, St Swithun’s offers not only a first-class education, but also the stable and structured boarding environment that can be life-changing for girls who may be on the edge of UK social care or navigating complex challenges at home.

We are so proud that St Swithun’s fulfils the ambitions of its founder, Anna Bramston, creating access to a modern education for girls of all backgrounds, enriching the school and better preparing all students for life beyond. We look forward to continuing our partnership with RNCSF to help shape positive and lasting impact for young people who need it.