The Rowdown Inspire to Aspire Foundation has been set up to inspire New Addington children to aspire to something big, something extra and to support them in their aspirations.
We are a registered charity that will provide funding to enable gifted and talented pupils at school in New Addington to pursue an area of talent to further their ambition and eventually give them life-enhancing opportunities as they become young adults. Our Aims
New Addington is situated in the London Borough of Croydon and is an area with high levels of social deprivation: a survey said that all the area had at least 25% child poverty with some parts at c.50%. The majority of children living in New Addington are either officially disadvantaged (i.e. they have or do qualify for free school meals) or come from low income families. The Foundation recognises that many parents cannot afford the private tuition or club membership that will enable their child to chase their dreams or that hard-working parents do not have the time to organise the tuition and get their child to the lesson. We can – and will – help with both.
We initially started helping children at Rowdown Primary School - hence our name - but have now expanded our remit to children at all six primary schools (Rowdown, Fairchildes, Applegarth, Castle Hill, Tudor and Good Shepherd) in New Addington. Christopher was our first and we paid for piano lessons all the way from Year 4 to Year 13 when he went off to university with a Grade 8 under his belt.
We support gymnasts, musicians, dancers and actors. Pictured here is Ciara who loved her Irish Dancing and we helped to make sure she could continue with her classes and her personal development.
We have also arranged Art Masterclasses in two of the primary schools where a young artist goes in and teaches talented young artists about different media, techniques and skills.
In addition to all the artists and musicians, we support a young lady called Lizzy, 14, who is currently representing England in international judo competitions at home and abroad. She is part of the elite England Development Squad and we have high hopes of her one day representing England and GB at major competitions. Why shouldn't Lizzy aspire to the Olympics and then go on to inspire the next generation of Croydon kids?
Over the years we have supported over 50 children to develop their talent in art, music, drama or sport and we are keen to take on more and more as our own funding position permits. Please contact us if you have live in New Addington and have a talented child of primary school age that might be missing out on a great opportunity.
All that said, our flagship activity is our Tuition Programme. This offers extra lessons in Maths and English (and verbal and non-verbal reasoning) to challenge them beyond the national curriculum and, as part of this, prepare them for 11+ entrance exams for selective grammar and independent schools where they can receive life-changing academic and non-academic opportunities. Thanks to our partnerships with Trinity School, Royal Russell School and Atom Learning, we now have 70 Year 4 and Year 5 pupils from low income families sourced from 13 primary schools all over Croydon receiving tuition on a weekly basis.
For more information on the Tuition Programme, click here. It's been running for nine years now and in that time we have helped 85 children - disadvantaged and/or from low income Croydon families - reach grammar and independent schools, the latter with the necessary financial support to make it affordable to parents.
It is essential that the child already shows some special ability and has a huge enthusiasm for their chosen area of interest. This is to ensure they will invest the time and effort to improve because otherwise the future opportunities will be limited and our support wasted. It is also essential that their parents have the same levels of enthusiasm for their child’s ambitions. This is non-negotiable!
Normally it will be the teachers – themselves a talented bunch of people – who will be the first to see something exceptional in the pupils and they will start to ball rolling by referring them to the Foundation. If you are a pupil or parent and wish to be considered for some support, talk to your class teacher initially about it: they will then approach the Foundation if they feel it is appropriate.
Of course we have rules and regulations: no organisation can exist without them these days! How it Works sets out our procedures and gives some guidelines on what we are looking for and what you need to do if you want to apply for some support from the Foundation, whether a teacher, a pupil or a parent. By parent, we mean parent, carer or guardian, of course.
We do not receive any funding from the education authorities and will need public donations to be able to continue to expand the number of children we can support. We currently support over 140 Croydon children many on a weekly basis. Not surprisingly, funds are beginning to get tight. You can donate by clicking here:
Find out all about us. Why not contact us for more information whether to seek our support or to support us. Follow us on Facebook and X to find out what we are doing to help the children of New Addington and Croydon to UNLOCK THEIR POTENTIAL.