This year’s Harvest Festival celebrations at Loyola Prep were made all the more special thanks to the incredible generosity of our boys and their families. Throughout the year, we collect food donations to support those in need in our local community, with key collection times at Easter, through our Easter Egg Appeal, and most recently with our Cereal Box Domino Challenge.

Generosity and compassion are values we continually encourage at Loyola. Living these principles is at the heart of our Catholic Social Teaching, and we hope the lessons learned here, of giving, sharing, and caring for others, will remain with our boys long after they leave our school community.

As Pope Francis once said, "A little bit of mercy makes the world less cold and more just."

October 2025

This principle of Catholic Social Teaching reminds us to focus on those most in need: the poor. It calls us to consider carefully how our choices and actions can make a difference in the lives of people experiencing poverty, and challenges us not to turn away from those who need our help. Pupils and their families always have such remarkable generosity, donating items for local food banks. Recently, some boys from our School Council delivered half of these contributions—an impressive 70.55 kg, roughly the weight of a young female jaguar—to the Epping Forest Food Bank. This experience allowed our pupils to see first hand how their kindness and practical support can have a real impact on others, living out the call to serve those in need in our community.

Throughout the year

As part of our ongoing support for local food banks, the boys created a colourful poster to encourage donations and raise awareness around the school.

This activity was not only a fun and creative way to contribute, but also a valuable opportunity for the boys to reflect on the needs of others.

By considering how their actions could help those less fortunate, they developed empathy and gratitude, recognising how fortunate they are while learning the importance of supporting their wider community.

We are so proud of Noah for choosing to donate his money to CAFOD. His generosity reflects an important principle of Catholic Social Teaching – a call to focus on those most in need.

This teaching reminds us that we cannot ignore people living in poverty; instead, we are called to make thoughtful choices and take meaningful actions to support them. Noah has shown us all how small acts of kindness can make a big difference.

Well done, Noah – you are a true example of our school values in action.