If you were given £1M to help your school - how would you spend it??

[LonelyFlans]

Been planning what to do when I win the euro millions.

I think our local secondary school is struggling (buildings, staffing, facilities, all the usual ways), so I think I'd give them a chunk of money.

But then got to wondering how that kind of money would be best spent and how far £1M would go.

And would there be issues with (LA owned) schools accepting that kind of money?

Anyone know how it all works??

Alas £1m isn't a great deal
Of money these days.

What about an extra TA for 20 years?

A replacement boiler. Specialist sports coaches and musicians to inspire the kids for as long as the money will allow.

You'd get 4 TAs for 20 years for that money!!

Good points.

I hate the idea of arty subjects being neglected so inspiring students would be good.

I love this sort of hypothetical stuff. In the circs, you’d probably be best investing at least half of the money so there was some income to the school for ever. So I’d say do £300k for capital spending and then invest the rest and allow the school to draw down some of the income each year. That’s how lots of the charitable foundations got so rich. You’d have less impact in the short-term but your initial donation would go much further in the long-term.

I'd give it to be used for trips. Taking primary school children to the pantomime or a museum. Senior school children to watch a performance of their set texts or a history trip or a science fair. Completely free of charge for every pupil with every student getting at least one trip a year.

We gave always said if we win BIG Wed buy a coach , or several, so school can always afford trips.
Also when we were both teaching we promised the kids we'd take them to Disney land!

Any emergency repairs that are needed. Investment in services like Cahms so children in urgent need of support can receive it. If there is anything left which I doubt then I would ask the teachers what they are spending their own money on and buy some of that!

For my local school which has now stopped A level music and has no musical ensembles I would buy an entire set of school orchestral /band instruments and fund peripatetics to provide cheap/free tuition in brass, strings , woodwind and hopefully fund a music teacher to teach music and provide support for school productions , concerts etc.

I dream of having the money to buy our local primary a minibus as the trips they can do are so limited due to transport costs.

Well half of it could fund a year’s energy bills…

Missed half my post! So I would probably say it should be for energy efficiencies - LED lighting, solar panels etc.

I often think if I won a ridiculous amount on the lottery I would set up a charity and fund the Dolly Parton Imagination Library for my local area and set up a grants system so schools could easily apply for things they needed, and individual families could apply for funding for uniform and residential trips.

Probably a bit outing but a secondary school near me raises approx 1 million a year through its PTA and alumni. It has helped contribute towards funding new buildings such as a new swimming pool, a new music block and a new English Block. Without this funding the school would not have been able to fund these things.