We are an 11-18 non-selective school servicing a very deprived area in Gillingham. We currently have 51.2 % of the school population who are classified as disadvantaged. This has risen from 44% in just 3 years.

Our feeder areas (Gillingham North, Gillingham South and Chatham) have wards in the bottoms 10% nationally for all of the deprivation indicator but specifically the following:
· income deprivation
· child poverty
· employment deprivation
· Education skills and training
· Young people’s qualifications
· Housing quality
· Crime

Crime is Medway’s weakest deprivation theme, with fifty-one neighbourhoods ranked in the most deprived 20% nationally and of those, thirty are in the 10% most deprived. Gillingham South has the two lowest ranking neighbourhoods for crime, ranking at 99 and 100 (of 32,844 nationally).

One of our many projects we run for improving behaviour, engagement and attendance is our basketball academy which our crowd funding bid aims to support. We currently have over 50 students that attend pre-school training from 7.30am and we want to expand and improve this provision with better facilities so we can link up with a Basketball Club to give the community a sporting facility to draw in vulnerable youths away from crime and antisocial behaviour in the evenings. The pre-school project has seen a significant impact on behaviour and exclusions in an area where exclusions are among the highest in the country.

We need some support as a community to help inspire students. We now need to improve our basketball facilities to meet the higher standards of the leagues our teams are now reaching due to the success of the academy. In just two years we now have some of strongest teams in Kent - evidence that achievement comes from hard work and discipline.

Please help fund the new floor and new basketball backboard and hoops that we desperately need.