Pupils from the Royal Hospital School in Holbrook, Ipswich, presented the Lighthouse Women’s Aid with a cheque for £1,557 in the schools on site Chapel this week.

Katherine Ahluwalia, Training Manager at Lighthouse Women’s Aid, thanked pupils for their generous donation and talked about the vital work the charity delivers as well as how the donation would be spent.

Lighthouse Women’s Aid is based in Ipswich and delivers much-needed services to the whole of Suffolk to educate communities on how to break cycles of abuse and to help the survivors of domestic abuse rebuild their lives. The organisation celebrated its 45th anniversary last year and is one of the four chosen charities The Royal Hospital School regularly supports under the Suffolk Community Foundation.

Lighthouse Women’s Aid offer two main services – a refuge for women and children who have to flee high risk domestic abuse situations and a Women’s Centre that supports survivors with crisis intervention, legal, housing and financial advice. They also visit primary and secondary schools to deliver their ‘Expect Respect’ programme that educates young people about healthy relationships. They estimate that they have so far been able to reach over 10,000 primary and secondary school pupils in Suffolk.

The school’s donation will be used to fund further educational visits to primary schools based in Ipswich, with the aim of reaching another 1,500 Year 6 pupils through the Crucial Crew project.

Dr. Philip McConnell, Chaplain and Head of Philanthropy at Royal Hospital School, said: “The Lighthouse Women’s Aid is a fantastic charity, and we are delighted to have been able to support such an important cause. Although our fundraising efforts have been constrained over the last two years, pupils and staff raised money through activities that included non-uniform days, Halloween trick or treats, sales of Valentine’s roses, ‘Guess the teacher’ from the baby photographs, raffles and tuck shops at school events, charity concerts and retiring offerings following chapel services, generating over £1,500 in much-needed donations.”

Katherine Ahluwalia, Training Manager at Lighthouse Women’s Aid said: “On behalf of everyone at Lighthouse Women’s Aid, I would like to thank the Royal Hospital School for their generous donation.

“The reason that we as a charity go into schools to give talks to pupils on healthy relationships is to teach the next generation of relationships what healthy looks like, in order to eradicate and prevent domestic abuse in the future. Many young people struggle with healthy relationships in all its forms from parents and carers to friends and romantic partners, especially with social media and other outside influences.

“Our Expect Respect programme teaches pupils what a healthy relationship looks like, and this starts from the age of five right through to 18, with each talk age appropriate. The key message is to talk to a trusted adult with any concerns regarding relationships and encourage friends to do the same. Thanks to this generous donation, we are able to reach another 1,500 pupils.”

Katherine talked about a rise in coercive and controlling behaviour over lockdown and urged pupils to reflect on their own relationships and ask, “are they healthy?” Every relationship from parents, siblings, friends, teachers, coaches, and family, should be healthy and respectful. If not, her advice is to find and speak to a trusted adult, as relationships are important and can have long-term effects on mental, physical, social and emotional health.

To find about more about the important work this charity does, please visit lighthousewa.org.uk.