At Highwoods Primary, we strive to be part of the community and embedded in all that is positive about Colchester and Essex.

A few examples of how our school has been working in partnership with local residents and those in Colchester:

- Staff and parents have run two half marathons this year to raise money and awareness for The Rainbow Trust and Alzheimers Society. Over £2000 has been raised.

- A annual Macmillan coffee morning is held in our school

- We hold a Rainbow Trust celebration day which raises awareness of the charity and the amazing work they do. The Rainbow Trust had been instrumental in supporting one of our pupils, Erin, who sadly passed away. 

- The choir performed at Charter Hall for the performance of Peter and the Wolf

- Our sports teams compete across Colchester and beyond. Our football team won the Colchester and Maldon finals, and then represented the district at the county finals in Billericay!

- Eco committee have litter picked through the local country park

- School council members have met with local councillors to raise awareness of parking issues. School council members also annually meet the Mayor and visit the county hall. 

- Every child has 6 weeks of Forest school learning at Highwoods,  connecting with nature. We have two sites on school grounds, and one large site in the country park. We learn all about conservation, and how important the forest is to our community. 

- We work in partnership with outside providers that provide a range of clubs, including out of term time clubs, for all pupils in the community. Highwoods school and our facilities are used as a base to run these clubs. 

- Local organisation, such as scouts, use our facilities- school provides a subsidised rate to promote these clubs for all children in the community. 

- The school attracts hundreds of visitors each year- not only from all over Essex, but further afield too. This year, for the second year running, we have hosted teachers and leaders from Slovenia as they find out more about our education system. 

- We promote and support the the local food bank, either by holding collections, or giving vouchers to families in need. 

- We support a wide range of outside agencies- last year we held a food collection for Refugee Action which saw 20 car loads of food donated to Colchester families!

- Visitors to school come from all over the local community-the church, police, fire fighters, the dental team, STEM teams and scientists for the university, Next Chapter, local sports heroes, university students, secondary schools and  pre-schools!