Vespers at Arundel Cathedral.

Advent commenced in wonderfully imposing fashion for Suzanne and I in the magnificent setting of the Cathedral of Our Lady & St Philip Howard in Arundel, West Sussex. 

We had kindly been invited, along with the High Sheriffs of West and East Sussex, Dr Tim Fooks and Annie Brown respectively, to join the friends of Arundel Cathedral for the Pontifical Sung Vespers for the First Sunday of Advent. Suzanne and I have visited the cathedral before but you can never cease to be overawed by its majesty. The service was presided over by Rt Revd Richard Moth, Bishop of Arundel and Brighton and was followed by refreshments in the hall nearby.

You can also visit the friends of Arundel gallery with Photographs by Andrew Mardell of ARM Photography by clicking HERE

Photo by Andrew Mardell

Surrey Maths School at their temporary home at Kings College in Park Barn.

Suzanne and I went back to school recently – we visited this specialist maths school for 16-19 year olds, now in its second year, part of the Learning Partners Academy Trust and working in partnership with the University of Surrey. They are a centre of excellence for the delivery of mathematics and further mathematics at A level together with other STEM subjects, fostering inclusivity and diversity. They prepare students for their future pathways, be that an internship, apprenticeship or university.

It is a free school and 90% of its pupils are from state schools, the only criteria for admission being academic achievement at GCSE. The classrooms encourage collective problem solving and presentation by arranging tables in squares and the walls being covered in whiteboards to enable collaboration and for the teachers to easily see progress.

We were shown round the school by four of its pupils who clearly enjoyed the style of teaching and the ethos of the school. Their experience is soon to be greatly enhanced as the school is moving to its purpose-built new home in the centre of Guildford in the spring next year.

Co- head teachers, Sahar Shillabeer and Nora Kettleborough, embodied the  enthusiasm we saw throughout the school and they also emphasised that a large part of their work is outreach providing maths support for local primary and secondary schools as well as training for teachers. We saw this in operation as a group of Year 7’s from Kings College were having a lesson and they were clearly enjoying the experience.

I look forward o hopefully seeing them in their new home soon.

The Rotary Club of Leatherhead.

I was delighted to be invited to address the Rotary Club of Leatherhead, not least because it was my fourth engagement of the day and they were providing dinner!

They meet weekly at Federation House in Leatherhead  and Arthee Gunness the President (pictured with me) and the rest of the Club made me feel most welcome.

After a delicious meal, I outlined the role of a High Sheriff past and present and my Shrieval theme for the year, being helping to prevent young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education, Employment or Training). It was especially relevant being in North Leatherhead as this is an area with a high level of deprivation and I have been engaging with the local schools and community to help put in place earlier and alternative interventions that hopefully will lead to better future pathways.

Reigate Grammar School – Expanding its Outreach in the Local Community.

Suzanne and I were delighted to be given a tour of Reigate Grammar School and meet with the Head Shaun Fenton, who outlined how the school has been developing its footprint internationally with nine schools now overseas utilising the same curriculum and school ethos. He also outlined how the school is also expanding its outreach in the local community. They had recently be graced by a visit by the Duke of Gloucester who had seen first hand the wonderful new library building and other recent developments.

The Sovereign Pre-School – at Reigate’s Sovereign Centre.

Suzanne and I were delighted to be invited to the Sovereign pre-school in Reigate. Run by YMCA East Surrey the pre-school was in full swing and we had the opportunity to sit down and enjoy some serious play dough making. The young children were enjoying a number of varied activities both indoors and out and clearly were all having a wonderful time 

The Sovereign Centre is multi-purpose with a large gymnasium, separate dojo for martial arts and a youth club space which is also used during the day for children struggling with mainstream education to interact and learn in a more relaxed manner.

Many thanks to Judith Brooks, deputy CEO, Sam Harding Trust Advisor, Stacey Lawrence pre-school manager and Rachel Summers Trust Fundraiser for showing us around. The Sovereign centre is one of a number operated by YMCA East Surrey which in the last year have benefitted over 18,000 people.

White Lodge, Chertsey – ‘BIG GIVE WEEK’ Campaign (match funded) to provide almost 2500 hours of Neuro Therapy/Fitness Sessions!

Suzanne, my police cadet Imogen and myself, thoroughly enjoyed our tour of White Lodge in the company of CEO, Lesleigh Bounds and Community Engagement Lead, Carol Ellis. It is a truly remarkable facility, sitting in two acres of grounds in Chertsey where it supports over 1,200 children, young people and adults with disabilities (both physical and neurodiverse) and their families; and they have done so since 1962!

They offer physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, hydrotherapy, holiday clubs and personal support and the centre also provides a Face-2-Face service for parents together with separate befriending groups. It  relies on voluntary donations and community involvement and fundraises a total of around £700,000 annually. They host a day nursery, a wonderful short break facility called Treetops and an Adult day centre called Rendezvous.

It is constantly reinvesting in its services, having recently completely refurbished its hydrotherapy pool and last year funded an amazing piece of equipment called the Walking Lab which helps people rebuild movement, strength and confidence after neurological conditions like a stroke, MS or brain injury. Next Week during Big Give Week they hope to raise funds (which will be match-funded 100%) to be able to give some 910 hours of advances neuro-therapy and over 1,550 hours of inclusive fitness sessions. Anyone wishing to find out more see https://www.whitelodgecentre.co.uk/get-involved/donate/appeals/big-give-christmas-challenge-2025

‘Connections’ – A ‘Daisy-Chain’ Exhibition

Suzanne, myself and my police cadet, Imogen, were delighted to have been invited to attend Connections a DAISY-chain exhibition. Disability Art in Surrey (DAISY) brings together a collection of deaf, disabled and neurodiverse charities across Surrey and the South East. We met with Cara Flowers and Jasmine White who organised this wonderful event which brought together a wide number of charities, some of which we have already met on our travels this year, such as Art-venture, The Meath, Halow and Linkable but we also met with Post19, the Stopgap Dance Company, saw a wonderful performance of The Other Library by Freewheelers, an amazing puppet show by Bloomin’ Arts and an incredible array of pottery pieces being made from a single ball of putty collated by The Grange (as a homage to Anthony Gormley).

It was so uplifting to see so many people having a wonderful day out and expressing themselves in a variety of artistic pursuits.

Christopher’s Children’s Hospice

Suzanne and I made a welcome return to Christopher’s Children’s Hospice in Guildford where CEO Paul Farthing met us and gave us a tour and an update on their activities. Suzanne used to volunteer many years ago when it was still known as CHASE and concentrated on providing end of life care for those under the age of 18 and respite care to give their loved ones some support. After merging with Shooting Star in 2013, which has a hospice in Hampton, they rebranded as Shooting Star Children’s Hospices in 2019.

Paul told us that sadly 50% of those children under the age of 18 who pass away do so in the first 28 days of their life and eanother 25% within a year. Also, increasingly, due to the increased outreach work they provide, more parents chose to let their children live out their final hours at home rather than come to a hospice, so that the support model has changed significantly in recent years. By increasing the size of their out reach staff and bereavement support teams, Shooting Star now assists the families of 80% of young children that sadly pass away across Surrey, North-West London and South-West London each year; and they now also support those families that have suffered a sudden bereavement such as through a road traffic accident as well as those whose child was born with a life-limiting condition. Last year they supported 657 children with life-limiting conditions, provided nearly 1,500 care nights and 448 bereaved families accessed their specialist bereavement care

The Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre – Guildford.

Suzanne and I met with a truly inspiring group of people when we visited the Rape & Sexual Abuse Support Centre in Guildford. Despite having to often deal with difficult and distressing cases, with a 165% increase in referrals over the past 5 years, their dedication to their job and camaraderie in supporting each other was wonderful to see. Daisy Anderson, the CEO, walked us through the services they provide including Independent Sexual Violence Advice, counselling services (for adults and young people aged 13 upwards), a support line and outreach education and raising of awareness. Across these areas they supported over 1,300 clients in 2024/25.

They are hampered in their efforts due to the wait for court time, which can be up to four years, reduction in statutory funding and a rise in, and reporting of, sexual offences. 

The High Sheriff Youth Awards provided a grant last year which enabled the recruitment of additional sessional counsellors to meet the growing demand for counselling for young survivors with increasingly complex needs. To date the grant has helped provide counselling for an additional 36 young people. RASASC provides a space where young people feel like they are heard; where they feel safe to speak about things they may not feel able to share with their family or peers.

Raising funds to support their endeavours is increasingly  challenging and a number of similar centres across the country have recently closed due to funding issues. Ways to support can be found here https://www.rasasc.org/support-us

Youth Services for Young People in Addlestone.

I always find it enjoyable when a plan comes together and such an opportunity presented itself this week when I was invited to visit Jubilee High School in Addlestone and also St Paul’s Church next door which provides a number of youth services for local young people and are a recent recipient of a High Sheriff Youth Award Grant.

Jubilee High School is part of the excellent Bourne Education Trust which consists of 24 primary, secondary and specialist academies plus 8 associate schools in total educating some 14,000 young people. I met with Penny Alford – Deputy CEO, Andy Field – Chair of the Board, and James Newman – Transformation Director. Having attended my Summer Party at the Brooklands Museum they were fully aware of my Shrieval theme to help prevent young people from becoming NEET (Not in Education or Training) and were keen to understand how they could become more involved. Jubilee High School is a wonderful example of how they can transform the performance of a school both from the perception of its pupils and parents, and also the local community.

I also met with Rhi Hyatt, the Deputy Head of Jubilee High School, who expanded further on the school’s activities and also endorsed the wonderful work St Paul’s Church undertakes in connection with the school. Last year the High Sheriff Youth Awards gave a grant of £4,000 to help support the work St Paul’s undertake in the community. Running an after-school club for Jubilee High School, having a drop-in café, providing mentoring services and helping with the transition of year 6 pupils to joining Jubilee High School are just some examples of their youth provision. They will shortly also launch their winter warmer initiative which provides hot chocolate and a croissant before school. This safe space provides an opportunity for young people to socialise and gain self confidence. 

At the church I met with Rita and two other members of the PAIS team (who are international volunteers) who help run the youth activities together with Ron Enticott, my fellow High Sheriff Youth Award Trustee, who helped me present them with a certificate to commemorate their grant award.

A most enjoyable morning all round.