Life lessons: the importance of charity in educating our children

With increasing research around the positive impact of charity and acts of kindness on our mood and emotional wellbeing, North Bridge House School explores how making these connections with others is vital in educating children.

From raising money for the Royal Free Hospital at Summer and Winter Fair events, to providing gifts for Ukrainian refugees as part of the Rotary Shoebox Scheme, North Bridge House pupils support and often lead on charity initiatives which support causes both close to home and all around the world. In linking formal education to dynamic, community-led projects, the school encourages meaningful connections between pupils as they bond through these group efforts and with members of the wider community. Connecting with others from different age groups and backgrounds in this way is vital to children’s character development; building these relationships has been proven to positively impact wellbeing and, at the same time, the school is equipping children with a strong set of core values as they progress into young adulthood.

Sustainability and environmental conservation are essential to our younger generation’s future and as such, North Bridge House aims to prepare not just global citizens, but agents of change. Pupils at the school have embarked with enthusiasm on a remarkable initiative to fundraise for ‘Just One Tree’, starting their very own North Bridge House Forest to aid global reforestation efforts.

Nishi Kapoor, Head of School at North Bridge House Nursery in Hampstead, says: “Children develop their understanding of global issues through active learning – in engaging our early learners in fundraising events and instilling a can-do attitude from the very beginning of their education, we are equipping them with the empathy, resilience and empowerment to eventually become change makers themselves. Most importantly, we are teaching them that their actions have consequences, not just for themselves or their immediate social circles, but for whole communities – worldwide communities – and this brings a depth of pride and perspective that many other life lessons cannot.”

While the school’s charitable outlook begins in the Nursery, where a visit from Children in Need’s Pudsey Bear is all the motivation the young philanthropists need to do their bit for a greater good, older students at North Bridge House develop key leadership and teamwork skills as a result of their involvement with charity projects.

“The idea is that we are empowering the next generation to take responsibility for both their future and their mental wellbeing; charity is a collaborative effort, connecting young people as they impact something much bigger than themselves, and this creates a heightened sense of capability as well as mood – it provides them with a sense of purpose, which they’re probably less likely to find in maths when trying to solve a quadratic equation, for example. With feelings of detachment amongst young people on the rise in this digital age, meaningful connections for a shared cause make all the difference in ensuring pupils feel present and valued,” says Headteacher at North Bridge House Senior Hampstead, Christopher Jones.

“The sense of unity created by contributing to a shared cause ignites genuine enthusiasm in pupils, parents and staff alike, at the same time as presenting us with real-world learning opportunities to prepare our pupils for life beyond the school walls,” Nishi, Head of the Nursery School adds.

Nurturing strong relationships within an empathetic community is core to the North Bridge House ethos, whether that be through the school’s many charity initiatives or prioritising diversity and inclusion within the student, staff and parent body.

The student ‘Pride and Diversity Council’ is an innovative engine for change at NBH, working to create a whole-school culture of inclusion year-round. For Pride Month in particular, the council launched the student created film, We Are One in assembly; worked with the school’s newspaper editorial team on The History of the Gender Binary feature and a profile on Alan Turing OBE FRS, who was notoriously persecuted for his homosexuality by the government he helped save; and designed a survey to bring to light and thus eradicate any homophobic, biphobic, or transphobic language used in school.

Whatever the month, however, student voices are championed, as are real-life issues such as Black Lives Matter. While Black History Month inspires all areas of the curriculum, inclusivity is at the forefront of children’s education at NBH whatever the time of year, nurturing children’s cultural awareness alongside their appreciation of what it truly means to give back and be charitable.

With volunteering linked to lower rates of stress and anxiety due to the positive effects of helping others and the feel-good brain chemical, dopamine, North Bridge House promotes charitable involvement as key to children’s personal growth and development. And in a school community where everyone is seen, heard and celebrated, the overall inclusive and holistic approach to every child’s wellbeing is arguably just as important as the focus on academic excellence.

This article first appeared in the 2024 edition of Which School? You can view the digital version of the guidebook here: