Community
Building a sense of belonging, empowerment and civic pride
This strand focuses on initiatives that help pupils build strong, trusting relationships with their peers and teachers, while deepening their understanding of the communities they belong to—both within and beyond school. Our aim is to support pupils in recognising the positive contributions they can make and the pride that comes from playing an active role in their world.
We want every student to feel a deep sense of connection, belonging and purpose. This work empowers pupils to see themselves as changemakers and future leaders who can shape their communities for the better.
The school motto, “Rather Use Than Fame,” sits at the heart of this priority. Its message—valuing service, contribution and action over recognition—remains profoundly relevant today. By supporting this strand, we help students understand the strength of community, appreciate their place within it, and develop the confidence and skills to drive positive change.
Working closely with the school, we are strengthening existing programmes and developing new initiatives that:
Support pupils to explore what community means to them, and understand the benefits it brings to their lives.
Enable students to create films, documentaries and similar projects that help them examine these themes and share their perspectives with wider audiences.
Connect pupils with leading organisations across Camden and North London, offering meaningful opportunities to engage with groups working to improve their communities.
Build pupils’ skills and confidence to identify local challenges, think critically about solutions and organise in ways that contribute constructively to change.
Increase awareness across London of the school’s work and our students’ achievements, fostering partnerships that lead to deeper collaboration.
Through this strand, we help students see themselves not only as members of their community, but as active participants and future leaders within it.
Our first public event as the William Ellis Trust, held in October 2025, was a powerful example of our mission to bring the community together and celebrate everything that makes William Ellis School special. We were joined by Alastair Campbell, a former parent of the school, who led an engaging and inspiring discussion on what each of us can do to create positive change and contribute to a better world.
Alastair was then interviewed by six current pupils, who explored a range of topics connected to our work and the issues shaping their futures. Their confidence, curiosity and clarity of thought resonated strongly with the audience of more than 140 alumni, parents and supporters from across the local community.
Guests left energised by the pupils’ passionate vision for the world they want to help create—and with a renewed sense of connection to the school that unites so many of us.
You can view highlights of the evening here.
We look forward to building on this momentum in the months ahead..
A core focus within this strand of work over the 2025/26 academic year is the More Than a Playground fundraising campaign to redevelop the school outdoor spaces. The playground area serves the wider community at weekends and during holidays as well as offering essential benefits to students during term-time. Students have been involved in the design stages of this redevelopment, helping shape the staff and architect’s understanding of the importance of the playground in building a space that works for all members of the community. They will also have a role to play in helping design and deliver fundraising initiatives that engage our supporters and neighbours to help the school achieve the redevelopment.
Do you have an opportunity that would benefit from the involvement of William Ellis students?
Do you have a great idea for an opportunity or program that will help open up opportunities for our students to develop their sense of what community means to them?
Please do get touch with us via the Contact Us function and we’ll be in touch as soon as possible