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Legacy

One of the two key objectives of the Friends of Dulwich College is to raise money for the benefit of the boys and the College, as well as local charities.

Since September 2015, the FDC has made an annual donation of £30,000 spread equally amongst the various interest groups, academic and co-curricular, within the College. These faculties, which include the boy-led Union of Societies, were then able to plan and decide how their allocation was spent and reported back to the FDC Committee

Below are reports from four of the projects which have recently received grants from the Friends, to give you a flavour of where the money is spent.

In addition the Friends has been able to grant £95,000 to Phase 2 of The Laboratory, over the last two years, as a result of events such as the Christmas Fair and the Summer Gala Dinner & Auction

As well as enhancing the boys' experience both present and future, the Friends has also allocated funds to 12 external Charities over the last two academic years, totalling over £15,000.

Drama Department

We were delighted that FDC gave the Drama Department a grant to recreate the costume Edward Alleyn wears in the portrait hanging in the College's boardroom. The costume involved research in the archive, which was later presented to students, FDC and staff, at talks by the costume designer Caroline Akselson, in the Edward Alleyn Theatre. The costume has been worn by boys on Founder's Day and will be used in the run up to the 1619 celebrations. There is a 'sister' costume created from Joan Alleyn's portrait made by Caroline for the Rose Playhouse, Bankside and both are shown side by side in the accompanying photograph. We hope to bring Caroline to the College to 'dress Edward and Joan' on Founder's Day 2016.

The Drama Department also received a grant for the photographs taken of 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle' by the world famous theatre photographer, Nobby Clark. These photographs capture the drama and beauty of moments in plays more effectively than video, providing memories for students and staff well into the future. They also act as images for the Department when creating brochures and copy for the website.

Peter Jolly,
Director of Drama

The Art Department

The money from the Friends supported two major Artist in Residence projects as part of "Dulwich Creative" in November 2014. Ben Woodeson and Christiaan Nagel worked with students during the week creating site specific installations. This experience has worked "two fold". Firstly creating a Gallery experience in School, all boys visited the exhibitions over the course of the Michaelmas term, experiencing how to use a gallery and explore contemporary Installation. Students further benefited from seeing the work from the stage of conception to fruition and gained a fuller understanding of the creative process in action.

The legacy of this experience continues to grow. We can see the evidence of engagement in the work currently being produced by students, our teachers have been inspired to stretch the boundaries of curriculum further with projects such as "Transforming Spaces". We are developing a more sustainable artist in residence programme and currently work with the Royal College of Art sourcing artists.

Sue Mulholland,
Director of Inclusion and Head of Free Learning

The Modern Languages Department

The Modern Languages Department is very fortunate to have enjoyed a strong level of support from the Friends over many years. The generous contributions from Friends’ funds have enabled boys to take part in activities that would have otherwise be difficult to provide. These have included over recent years: tours of the Stade de France, the Paris Catacombs, the National Socialist archives in Cologne and a day trip to Siena.

Alleynians derive great benefit from these experiences and these often spark interest in and commitment to language study beyond Dulwich. By way of example, all of the Upper School participants in the Cologne trip passed German A level with an A grade, one of the participants is currently studying German and Spanish at Exeter College, Oxford, and another is studying German and History at Bristol.

We would like to thank the Friends of Dulwich College for their support which gives a lasting legacy to their experiences abroad and to their language learning.

Robert Baylis,
Head of Modern Languages

Discover More

The Committee

President
Mrs Angela Spence

Co-Chairs
Mrs Robyn Asher and Mrs Mandy Dillon

Vice-Chairs
Mrs Kim Smyth and Mrs Patricia Castro

Treasurer
Michelle Tyler

Secretary
Mrs Cara Norfolk

Contact
friends@dulwich.org.uk

The Friends of Dulwich College Constitution

Donor Impact Report 2021

Newsletter - June 2023