Community
We value local and global links
We strongly value our links with the local and global community and our student body raise, on average, over £30,000 each academic year for worthy causes.
Charity events
Across the whole school, each house is responsible for organising its own charity events to raise funds for UK and international causes of their choice.
Our Sixth Formers are expected to take the lead in the charitable action within the college.
Charity Days in the Prep School have included raising over £1,000 for Sussex-based animal charity Raystede, after which the young organisers were given a behind-the-scenes tour to see how their money would be spent. Other Charity Days have supported the NSPCC, Young Epilepsy and MIND.
All Prep School children took part in our Reindeer Run for Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice and a Heroes Run for Pass It On Africa.
The Pre-Prep supports either the BBC’s Red Nose Day or Children In Need each year, and the children also regularly support Chestnut Tree House children’s hospice by organising sponsored events and holding an annual collection after their nativity play.
Our children and parents also take part in the annual World’s Biggest Coffee Morning for Macmillan Cancer Support.
Community work
In addition to raising money for good causes, our children are also encouraged to help the local community.
The biggest initiative is our Community Action Day. All students (and staff) in the Senior School take part in this event during the Summer term and visit more than 30 locations across Sussex to help charities, schools and community organisations. Students carry out work such as gardening, painting, washing mini-buses and volunteering in charity shops. Organisations over the past few years have included Age UK, CCHF All About Kids, Chailey Heritage School, Hollyrood, Paws and Claws and the Torch Trust, Hassocks.
A team of Hurst students and staff organise a water station each year for runners taking part in the Brighton Marathon.
International support
A group of Senior and Sixth Form students take part in our biannual trip to Malawi, Africa. Whilst there they help to build houses for the people in our partner village, Chilingani.
Our Prep School have a Skype Pals Club when pupils can talk to children in Sri Lanka every week via Skype video calls.
Community service and leadership
Sixth Formers are central to the school’s Guardian programme, in which selected students are given training and responsibility to monitor the wellbeing of their peers.
Many of our Sixth Formers work towards the Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award Scheme, with its emphasis on leadership, personal development and community service. Others take command roles in our Combined Cadet Force or lead our Community Service programme.
Remembrance Day
The college is active in supporting UK Remembrance Day every November. A special Remembrance Service is held as a tribute to the 108 Hurst boys and four members of staff who lost their lives during the First World War.
Hurst has an online war memorial record, Hurst at War, which is available to view online at Hurst archive.
Local schools
Links have been formed with a number of local schools including Warden Park Academy in Cuckfield, St Paul’s Catholic School in Burgess Hill and St Lawrence CofE Primary School in Hurstpierpoint. We have supported a number of joint ventures with these schools.
Sponsorship
The college takes an active role in sponsoring local events and clubs.
Hurst is an Associate Partner of the Charleston Trust and sponsors the Charleston Festival and the Charleston Small Wonder Festival.
We sponsor the local amateur dramatic society, the Hurst Players based in Hurstpierpoint Village and support the Hurst Festival by running events at the college. These include our popular Cake at the College event and Music Scholars’ Concert which are organised by the Music School.
We also sponsor a number of local sports clubs such as Hurstpierpoint Football Club, Haywards Heath Rugby Club and Sussex County Cricket Club.
The college has close links with the world-famous All England Jumping Course at Hickstead and sponsors the National Schools & Pony Club Show Jumping Championships each August, as well as hosting a Schools Show Jumping Competition which is open to local schools and is held each September.
Minibus support
The Hurst minibus fleet has been used to support a number of organisations such as the Brighton Marathon, Lindfield Primary Academy, Lindfield URC Youth Group and the Brighton 29th and Southwater Scout Troops.