In pictures: 1,000 students take part as Seaford College celebrates 10th Community Action Day

The students spent their time working across 45 local causes across Sussex, Surrey and Hampshire – including rugby clubs, scouting huts, nursing homes and more – in a bid to expand their skillsets and pay back into their respective communities.

Many of the students chose to volunteer with organisations of which they were already a part, such as sports teams on which they already played, or at nursing homes where they had an elderly relative, deepening their connections to some of the most important organisations in their lives.

The community action day is a yearly initiative first introduced by headmaster John Green, after he took over the running of school back in 2023.

“The main idea is to make a positive difference to the surrounding community, our students are extremely fortunate to study and live in such a beautiful part of the country, it is only right that they put something back,” he said. “As well as this annual event, Seaford has a very active Charity Committee with students and staff take part in community fundraising events throughout the year.”

"It’s always important to give back,” one student, who spent the day volunteering at Worthing hospital said. “At Seaford we’re quite privileged so have some of the stuff we have, and some people don’t. We spoke to the head gardener, and he said that it’s really important for the patients to have the plants, because a lot of them don’t get to go out.

A staff member at the hospital added: “We’re really pleased to welcome Seaford College back here for phase three of our garden transformation. We’ve had students working with the patients on a range of activities. It’s a real break from day to day life in hospital which can be quite isolating sometimes, so to have other people coming in, different people to interact with, is really special and important; it means a lot. And just having the students and hearing about their lives it brings a real vibrancy to the place.”