Chaddesley school given £12,000 donation - The Bromsgrove Standard

Chaddesley school given £12,000 donation

Bromsgrove Editorial 28th Jun, 2015 Updated: 17th Oct, 2016   0

A KIND-HEARTED donation of £12,000 to Chaddesley Corbett Endowed Primary School was literally music to the staff and pupils’ ears.

The cash was handed over by Bromsgrove businessman Doug Clark, who used to go to the school in the 1940s, at an assembly last Friday (June 19) and will go towards the music department.

It will be spent on upgrading percussion instruments, buying a class set of African drums and investing in computers and specialist software so children can digitally produce, record, edit and arrange music. There are also plans to create a sensory music area to benefit children with special educational needs.

The cash came from sales of Doug’s official biography Belts and Braces which was penned by Bromsgrove author Euan Rose and was released in September 2013.




It chronicles Doug’s life from humble beginnings in Mustow Green to his business success running 11 motor dealerships, generating a turnover of more than £60million. By the time he retired in 2002, Doug employed over 450 people locally.

Doug has never forgotten his roots in Chaddesley Corbett and wanted his book to benefit the school which, he said, ‘gave him his foundation’.


With music being a great personal passion he pledged the proceeds from the first 1,000 books sold to the school’s music department.

Headteacher Emma James said the school felt very privileged.

“Spending on the arts isn’t always prioritised in schools and we are delighted to be able to improve the quality of our music provision.

“For some children music is a way to excel and it helps build self esteem.”

She added the music budget for the school for this year was £200, so the cash would provide an amazing boost.

Only 800 books have been sold so far but Doug said: “The time was right to make the donation now, so children can start enjoying an enhanced music department from the start of the new academic year in September.”

Wyre Forest MP Mark Garnier, who was also there last Friday, gave a short speech of thanks, calling it a ‘generous act of kindness by a man who remembers where he came from’.

“There are not enough people like Doug Clark,” he added.

Copies of Belt and Braces are available from The Fox Inn and flower shop on Chaddesley Corbett High Street and from online retailers.

Visit www.douglasclark.co for more.

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