Charitable Partnerships

Charity plays an important part in school life at MCS. Each year, the school votes to select a local charity to support alongside our partnership school in Uganda, and every year group is involved in fundraising.

The school’s Charity Committee organises regular events to raise money and boost engagement across our community. Numerous staff and pupils take the initiative to do their own fundraising: from sponsored marathons, macarenas and unicycle rides, to staff concerts, pupil-led talent shows and House quizzes. Charity at MCS is varied and exciting.

Over the course of a given year, we welcome representatives from our charities to speak in Chapel, which helps to promote the charities’ vital work. In addition to the money donated for the school’s charities, each Christmas every Houseroom collects gifts to donate to Rose Hill Community Larder.​​

 

Through sustained support for our elected charities and the promotion of voluntary work, we hope to instil in our pupils an awareness of the importance of supporting the wider community and develop in them a desire to be involved in socially conscious action, both in at school and in their lives beyond.

Magdalen College School has a long history of supporting the work of charities close to its heart, and is delighted to partner with Mustardseed Junior School in Sentema, Uganda – now home to over 180 pupils.

In 2024-25, we raised:

in total for our charity partners
for Mustardseed Junior School
for Oxford Hospitals Charity

"Oxford Samaritans is delighted to be working as MCS's local charity during the academic year 2025-26. Listening empathically and without judgement is a critical life skill and, through our partnership, we hope to encourage MCS students to understand and reflect on our work and what it can bring to people in crisis."

Christine Scott-Jackson, Director, Oxford Samaritans

Our Partner School: Mustardseed Junior School, Uganda

Mustardseed Junior School opened its doors to pupils in January 2022, and raising money for the school and its pupils remains a core focus of our charitable activity as a school.

Donate to Mustardseed SchooL

Pupils from Mustardseed School, Sentema Uganda sitting under tree

Our Local Charity: Oxford Samaritans

We are delighted to be supporting Oxford Samaritans this year. Every 90 minutes in the UK someone ends their life by suicide, and every 10 seconds Samaritans nationally respond to a telephone call. Samaritans’ vision is that fewer people die by suicide, and their helpline is open 24/7, 365 days each year. Oxford Samaritans is the local branch of the Samaritans national charity, and provides mainly phone-based support to people in distress. The branch is managed and operated by around 170 local volunteers, and answers about 39,000 telephone calls each year.

Donate to Oxford Samaritans

Discover more

Mustardseed Junior School

Sustainability

Partnerships