AN43

www.abingdon.org.uk 21 Abingdon Parents’ Association How long have you been running SUS? I have been involved as a volunteer since 2008 but had the responsibility for running SUS for the last 7 years. COFFEE BREAK WITH SUS! 10 questions with Marilyn Moore, Second-hand Uniform Shop Manager Who staffs the shop and are they parents of current Abingdon boys? I am very lucky to have a wonderful team of volunteer parents, 11 of whom are current parents and 2 whose sons left in 2013. In fact one parent whose son is leaving next summer has already offered to stay on the rota for 2017/18. How often have you moved location since you have been running SUS? The Greening Wing is our 4th home and thanks to very good discussions with the school we at last have a proper shop. Do parents get any money back on items that the shop sells? Yes, parents get 60% of the sale price of every item they ask SUS to sell on their behalf. How much does SUS raise for the School? Last school year we donated £8,000 to support requests for the funding of small items from the ‘Masters’ wish list’. In 2014/15 we donated £6,000 for the new Yamaha piano which sits in the Amey Theatre as well as the new hockey goals. In the past we have donated money for the 1st XV rugby posts, all the reduced size rugby posts at the front of school, cricket nets, new canoe, new uniforms for CCF, iPods for modern language dept. and many other projects such as Public Speaking workshops and a Go-Kart kit for the science centre. When is the busiest time of year? The summer term is always busy especially on the 1st year and 3rd year Induction days. What item do you wish you had more of to sell? Track suits and reversible rugby shirts are always in great demand. What is the biggest misconception about SUS? That the items for sale will be of poor quality! We pride ourselves on the presentation and good condition of uniform available. All items are washed and inspected before sale. If I wouldn’t buy it then it does not go on sale. How many items were sold last year / in a typical year? In the academic year 2015/16,1039 items were sold which was an increase of 10% over the previous year. The Second-hand Uniform Shop (SUS) has become such a valuable and well supported part of school life and is expertly run by volunteer parents. To get some inside knowledge on what it’s all about, we thought we’d squeeze in a quick coffee with SUS manager, Marilyn Moore. Second-hand Uniform Shop The shop is open most Saturdays and Wednesdays during term time. All dates and times of opening are available on the school website. Enquiries to [email protected]