Those of you who have been supporting NewDawn India for many years will remember that, almost 20 years ago, we embarked on a project to build a school for the Vidiyal children. Sadly, the land where the school was being built, was subject to a compulsory purchase order in 2007 and the project was put on hold, with Vidiyal eventually receiving compensation just a few years ago.
The Vidiyal children are encouraged to attend school and are helped with their studies at the drop-in centres. However, the education they receive in school is not always of the highest quality, and the children sometimes face discrimination in the classroom. The aim of educating children to give them a brighter future remains central to the work of Vidiyal, and the goal of creating a school where children from marginalised communities can access high quality education has remained in our sights.
In 2024 Jim’s son, Jess, joined the Vidiyal team, bringing experience in education management and administration. After detailed research to identify communities in greatest need of accessible education and assessing many potential plots, a site was purchased in September 2025. Since we shared this news with those of you who were able to attend the Curry Evening, work has progressed to develop plans and costings to build the NewDawn School.
NewDawn has retained all of the donations previously received towards a school, and the school building will be part-funded by the compensation received from the earlier project. However, this leaves a significant shortfall to be met through grants and fundraising by Vidiyal and NewDawn.
hopefully we are all still learning today – so maybe consider giving thanks for those people who we are still learning from – perhaps our children.
As you can see from the attachment, we have detailed plans and models of how the school will be. Initially there will be nursery and early years classes, expanding into a full primary school and beyond as time and funds allow.
| Description | Quantity | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Classroom | 7 | £10,000 Each |
| Auditorium | 1 | £200,000 |
| Staff Room | 1 | £4,900 |
| Principle Room | 1 | £2,850 |
| Director Room | 1 | £2,850 |
| Washroom | 2 | £655 |
| Toilet Girls | 1 | £5,100 |
| Toilet Boys | 1 | £4,351 |
| Toilet Staff Female | 1 | £1,100 |
| Toilet Staff Male | 1 | £525 |
| Portico | 1 | £20,000 |
| Kindergarten Playground | 1 | £60,100 |
| Kerb Wall, compound wall & paver block | 1 | £5,200 |
| Furnishing | 1 | £10,800 |
| Electrical | 1 | £21,100 |
