Insurance company BF&M has donated $20,000 over two years to support extracurricular activities at Purvis Primary School.

The Bermuda Education Network’s Horizons programme uses donations from corporations to deliver sailing, arts and science lessons to primary level students in government schools. The number of schools served by the programme depends on donations.

BEN is a registered charity that provides support to public schools, providing individualised support and training to teachers and creating supplemental positive experiences for students, said a statement. John Wight, president and CEO of BF&M Ltd, said: “The future of Bermuda depends on the quality of our children’s education and the exposure they are given to enriching experiences. BF&M is excited to contribute towards offering supplemental extracurricular activities to the children of Purvis.

“We value initiatives such as BEN’s Horizons programme that give us an opportunity to strengthen our ties with public schools.”

Judith Alexander, principal of Purvis, said: “At Purvis we are committed to providing environments that promote creative thinking and problem solving. The Horizons programme extends our mission through more in-depth experiences related to our school curriculum.

“Thanks to the generous donation from BF&M, our students have opportunities to stretch their thinking and begin preparing themselves to compete globally.”

BEN executive director Becky Ausenda said: “We are thrilled that BF&M has decided to ‘adopt’ our Horizons programme at Purvis for the next two years. Our Horizons programme has grown from supporting about 30 students per year with vacation camp bursaries to now supporting 55 students in a year-round programme.

“The addition of a monthly expedition programme has allowed us to work on character skills with primary level students. We use the type of expeditionary learning curriculum that you might associate with Outward Bound or the Sloop Foundation but adapt it for younger age groups.

“The goal is to intervene earlier with students and equip them with character strengths to help them succeed at Middle School.”

The two organisations are now looking at plans to work together on providing more support to the school during 2017, through BF&M volunteer hours, careers talks and a wellness workshop.

For details of how to support a primary school programme administered by BEN, contact Becky Ausenda at becky.ausenda@ben.bm