Art Spectacular Raises £50,000 for life changing charityCheam School, Headley, Newbury hosted The Cheam Foundation Charity Art Exhibition on Thursday, 28th April and welcomed hundreds of guests to the event. The Exhibition was an outstanding celebration of home-grown art and marked the long awaited coming together of the whole school community post pandemic.The Cheam Sports Hall was transformed into a professional art gallery, thanks to generous sponsorship from the Jenna Burlingham Gallery. As well as showcasing work from every child in the school from nursery to Year 8, which was hung professionally, there was a live and silent auction of work donated by alumni, past and present parents, and staff (catalogue attached), in aid of the Bursary Fund, to provide 100% life changing school bursaries.Under the skilled and entertaining steer of television presenter and guest auctioneer, Mark Durden-Smith, the event raised a staggering £50,000 for the Cheam Foundation. The funds will help to change the lives of 1 or 2 children who have been recommended to Cheam via the Royal National Children’s SpringBoard Foundation. Please watch Julien’s story here to see the difference these bursaries make.Cheam, Prep School of HRH Prince Charles and HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, were honoured that Clarence House loaned the school a painting by HRH The Prince of Wales – Kilphedir Pool on River, Helmsdale, Sutherland – for the evening. This was an incredible and special privileged for the community to see the stunning landscape up close. Photography was prohibited and despite great interest the priceless item was not for sale in the auction!During the day the children visited the exhibition and there were Prize Giving’s for the Pre-Prep and Prep School, when the 4 judges awarded prizes. Congratulations to all the children and especially to our Prize Winners: Year 8 Nancy Foster, Max Elwes, Alasdair Dawnay, Posy Steward | Year 7 Conrad Weber, Sam Clark, Arthur Whelan, Clementine Sunley | Year 6 Sophia Heidl, Charlie Geering, Robert Wenden, Ned Rutherford | Year 5William Ward, Cora Tryon, Berkay Altuntas, Vincent Hao |Year 4 Felix FitzGerald, Arthur Wilson, Florence Conway, Sebastian Hazell | Year 3 Brodie Seherr-Thoss, Alexander Parry, Violet Sanderson, Fred Ruane | Year 2 Jeremy Wang, Cici Francis, Ludo Collett | Year 1, Margot Irwin, William Left, Lily Bearman | Reception Monty Ball.Vale Edgington, Head of the Cheam Foundation, commented, “We are extremely grateful to our event sponsors Jenna Burlingham Gallery, Prime Purchase and Fowler Architecture and Planning for enabling us to put on an event of this scale, which included every child in the school’s framed piece of artwork. We were also very fortunate to have established artists from the art world, Oliver Akers-Douglas, Miranda Donovan and Louise Pragnell, judging the children’s work. We are one of the few Prep schools in the country to have a Foundation and to be partnered with the Springboard charity which has such a positive impact on young people’s lives. Huge thanks to Mark for his outstanding auctioneering. ”William Phelps, Headmaster, commented, “What an extraordinary Art Exhibition! Huge congratulations to Vale Edgington, Mrs Clark, Head of Art, the Cheam Foundation Team and Art Exhibition Committee. They have all worked tirelessly over the last few months to bring together art from across the school in the most spectacular event. It has been a superb opportunity to celebrate every child at Cheam and I congratulate each and every one on their contribution. The quality of work was impressive and our four visiting judges certainly had a challenge on their hands. Thank you to all those who joined us on the evening and supported Cheam and the Foundation by purchasing their children’s art or that donated by generous local artists.”
10 Dec 2024 
