Charity Projects

Fundraising, volunteering and supporting charitable projects in the local and wider community play a huge part in school life at Derby Grammar. Our aim is to help children develop an awareness of the world around them as they grow into caring, compassionate and responsible young adults.

We have strong links with YMCA Derbyshire and support through the Christmas shoe box appeal and harvest festival donations.  

The Tanzania Project

Arguably one of the most life-changing opportunities available at Derby Grammar School is the chance to support children in Mwanza, Tanzania at the Amani School.

Our Year 12 students are all offered the opportunity to travel to Tanzania for three weeks to support our partner school, Amani, through teaching, improving the facilities and by supporting community groups.

For everyone taking part it is a year-long project as we encourage you to develop your entrepreneurial skills to raise the money to fund your trip, as well as co-ordinating whole-school fundraising activities to raise money to invest in projects to support Amani School.

A life-changing experience

Since the project began in 2013 we have raised over £100,000 for Gedeli B School and our current partners, Amani School which has enabled us to:

• Build four new classrooms and a special needs classroom at Gedeli.
• Install electricity and running water in to the five original classrooms, as well as the five new ones.
• Build two new toilet blocks, complete with water supply, and installed a 10,000 litre water tower so the children have a regular supply of water.
• Supply classroom equipment and equipment for sports, maths, science and general teaching.
• We have flattened a large area at Amani, creating a playing field shared with the neighbouring school.
• We have provided desks, (30 in 2025 alone) in an ongoing attempt to ensure that all children can be seated.
• We have provided concrete flooring for all of the classrooms at Amani.
• In 2025 we were able to provide equipment and infrastructure for Amani to have internet access for their staff and pupils.

We have a team that organise and support fundraising events across the year, with one highlight being 'Charities Week' in November where the whole school takes part.  

Changing Lives

As well as the school, we support the local orphanage, Hisani, whose children attend our old school, Gedeli, and Forever Angels Baby Home.  For both, we take donations of clothing, shoes and toys each year.  We also work with Upendo Daima Street Children's Centre which has benefitted from new sports equipment.  Our visits to these children are a highlight of the trip.

For further information please email:

Mrs Vicky Churnock - [email protected]

Mr John Speight - [email protected]

“You don’t just visit Tanzania, it stays with you forever.” Caleb 2025

“I was skeptical at first , but I'm so glad that I went. Not everyone can say that they’ve climbed the highest mountain in Africa! The trip is about so much more that that though. It was life-changing to connect with the pupils at Amani every day.” Yusuf 2025

“I feel that the trip changed me as a person. I’m much more organised, and I’m a lot more appreciative of what we have."  Tom 2025

We have the following DGS Tanzania Trust Social Pages for updates:

Instagram / Facebook