Great British Pub Awards

Heralded as the Oscars of the pub industry, this prestigious competition, which has been running for almost 20 years, recognises the best pub operators in the country. The competition sees pubs from across Britain enter in the hope of winning one of the industry's most sought after accolades.

The announcement for the finalist of the GBPA was eagerly anticipated. Could we be successful again with our application for consideration? The answer came on Tuesday 16th June and it was a resounding YES! We were absolutely delighted to receive the news that we are a finalist for 2025 in the category we won last year - the Best Community Pub. This is a fantastic achievement by everyone involved.

What are the next steps? The dedicated judge for the Best Community Pub category will visit us by August 15th. There is then an interview on August 19th. All of the Awards will be announced on 24th September 2025 in Leeds. Fingers crossed!

Highlights

The submission highlighted the success of the Chatty Café initiative, which fosters informal conversations among individuals. It lead to a French language learning club and a trip to Paris by its members. Other highlights inluded our annual themed food and entertainment events celebrating British history, such as Burns Night and St George's Day, organized by volunteers, with proceeds supporting the restoration of The Swan.

Proudest Achievement

From the renovation of The Swan, a pub that collaborates with a school to support students who have not succeeded in mainstream education, now celebrating its 6th anniversary as a safe and inclusive community space that promotes diversity and belonging.

Heart of the Community

The Swan prides itself on being at the heart of the community with a variety of activities such as a weekly dog-walking group and Uke-Oke, a unique Karaoke-style singalong with the Windsor Ukulele Band. The pub also sends out a weekly newsletter to over 1000 recipients and uses social media to amplify its message. The Swan is a popular venue for hatches, matches and dispatches. Each year, the community votes for and selects a Charity of the Year which in 2025 is the Windsor Homeless Project. The Swan's motto for the year is We're The Swan – where everyone is welcome.

As a pub

Here are the some of the key points:

Drinks and Events: The Swan offers a wide range of drinks, including 42 different guest beers and ales, and hosts weekend beer festivals with full tap takeovers for independent breweries across the UK. They also support local live entertainment and food stalls during these events. Additionally, we've have held Prosecco, Gin, and Alcohol-Free promotion months.

Loyalty Scheme: The Swan has a loyalty scheme where customers can enjoy 9 drinks of the same type and get the 10th free. This scheme has been running for 2 years and has proven to be very popular 2.

Private Functions: The pub is a popular venue for parties and private functions, contributing significantly to their overall turnover. They have recently changed their wine suppliers to a local store in Windsor to better support these functions.

These initiatives reflect The Swan's commitment to quality, community engagement, and social responsibility.

Promoting Inclusivity

There are various activities and initiatives:

Inclusivity: The Swan emphasizes inclusivity, ensuring that everyone feels welcome and safe. They have made modifications to the space to make it accessible for all, including accessible toilets, ramps, and step-free access. They also offer a unisex toilet option and ensure the decor is calm and inviting.

Community Offerings: The Swan offers a diverse range of community groups, classes, and regular entertainments to cater to everyone. This includes activities like quizzes, Warhammer, ukulele, and Mahjong. The pub serves as a place for young and old to interact, promoting respect and empathy between generations.

Behavior and Attitudes: The Swan encourages inclusive attitudes and behavior, with staff and patrons not tolerating any behavior that seeks to exclude or belittle others. They support each other in times of need and celebrate each other's successes.

Growing Sustainability

We are always looking to reduce our energy consumption. Our solar panels go 10% of the way, helping to run our fully electric kitchen. We have upgraded the insulation whenever we have renovated any of the rooms and are currently fundraising to upgrade our pub windows to double glazed panels. We will do this by retrofitting extra panes into our existing original windows.

The Green Room College has recently signed up for Let's go Zero, a national campaign to make all educational estates zero carbon by 2030. We will soon receive our Carbon Count, which will allow us to have some reliable data to help us manage and celebrate progress. Students are starting a Source to Sea project, where they explore where litter can end up. This provides curiosity to our weekly litter picks in the community and will take our students overseas as they get involved in beach cleans both at home and abroad.

It also impacts our procurement and our service providers. The Swan's banking and mortgage is with Triodos Bank, a certified 'B-Corp' organisation since 2015. We compost all of our coffee grounds and food waste which goes to help the plants we grow on site and at the school allotment. Any other waste we produce is collected by Grundons in their 100% carbon neutral fleet and taken to their renewable energy waste plant in Colnbrook.

Being sustainable is about building and maintaining good habits and we are always looking for other opportunities to do this. Although we know we have a way to go, we are committed to continually strive for a greener future and see it as another responsibility we have for our community.

Recent Investment

The Swan faces challenges and ongoing efforts:

Financial Challenges: Over the past 24 months, The Swan has faced significant financial difficulties due to rising interest rates, utility costs, staffing, and product costs. Despite these challenges, the pub has managed to stay afloat.

Fundraising and Renovation: The Friends of The Swan committee has been actively fundraising for ongoing renovations. They have raised enough funds to focus on the second floor and the pub's frontage to increase curb appeal and attract new customers.

Educational Projects: Renovation of the upstairs bedrooms has begun, led by College students learning skills in plastering, electrical work, and plumbing. The goal is to have four rentable rooms on the second floor, providing additional income and employment opportunities.

Community Involvement: The pub recently renovated its interior through a volunteering weekend, which included repainting, adding tiling, and creating space for community photo frames. This low-cost investment was well-received by the community.

New Cellar Hatch: A new custom-made cellar hatch, created by a college alumnus, has been installed to improve beer delivery and cellar insulation.

These efforts reflect The Swan's commitment to community engagement, education, and continuous improvement despite financial challenges.

Recognition

We are delighted that people like what we do. Not only is our number of social media visits growing, but also our reviews on both Facebook and Google Business score an impressive 4.7 out of 5. We have also been fortunate to have been chosen for a number of awards including:

All of these acknowledgements, when added together, bring us amazing coverage expanding visibility of The Swan both in the local and wider areas, thus expanding our customer base.

Why The Swan?

We believe all these things add up to The Swan being the true definition of a community hero.

We were extremely proud to be chosen as the Winner of the 'Best Community Pub' category at the Great British Pub Awards 2024! The award was announced on Wed 17th Sept at a gala ceremony in Manchester, heralded as the Oscars of the pub industry. Pubs from across Britain compete for one of the industry's most sought after accolades. It was presented live on stage to The Swan General Manager, Micky Foden-Andrews. The ceremony was live streamed to the pub, where a huge cheer went up as The Swan was announced as the winner, leading to an evening of jubilant celebration.

This recognition turns the page of another chapter in The Swan's unique story and presents an amazing opportunity for the future of the pub. As well as the winner's trophy, now proudly displayed in the bar, the award entitles The Swan to a prize of £5000 which will be put towards the ongoing refurbishment works at the pub. More so, it recognises the combined efforts of everyone who has been a part of The Swan’'s story in recent years, showcasing the power of community and acting as a beacon to others to do the same. Hopefully it will encourage more people to come down to The Swan to see what it is all about.

Image courtesy of the Morning Advertiser.

The prestigious Great British Pub Awards have been running for over 20 years and are organised by The Morning Advertiser, the UK pub industry's leading trade publication. General Manager Micky, who was flying the flag for The Swan along with his wife Jess, says “First and foremost, a huge thank you to The Swan team and all of our supporters. A community pub is nothing without its community! The energy and backing you have brought to The Swan over the past 5 years to bring it back to life has been astonishing. This can be seen in the dedication of our volunteers and the huge array of different clubs, activities and events we hold here, as well as our unique partnership with The Green Room College. This helped us demonstrate to the judges that we are more than a pub, we are the heart of the community with lots going on, enabling us to stand out in a very strong field of worthy finalists.”

Image courtesy of the Doug Seeburg, FoTS.

To see more photos of the Awards, please visit our September Event Diary page. It has photos from the actual event, and from the pub during the awards ceremony.

There is a YouTube video of the evening's activities both from Manchester and from the pub. It gives a flavour of the evening and the celebrations. Do enjoy!

Letter from Jack Rankin, MP

We were surprised and pleased to receive a handwritten letter from Jack Rankin, our local MP, who has taken interest in the activities at The Swan.

The Morning Advertiser

GBPA 2024: Best Community Pub, sponsored by CCEP – the Swan, Windsor, Berkshire

The Swan in Clewer, near Windsor in Berkshire, is so much more than a pub to local people – it's a wonderful community hub that is making a real social impact in its local area. Published 23-Sep-2024. Read the article here.

BBC Radio Berkshire

Whilst still in Manchester and still recovering from the aftershow party, Micky was interviewed by Bridgitte Tetteh. Radio Berkshire have been following our story over the years and it was a great opportunity to chat about the Best Community Pub Award. Listen here.

Magic FM

Sonali Shah, of the Magic FM afternoon show, invites people to call in with updates what is going on. A good Friend of The Swan, Dawn Chojnacki, had called in to spread the word about our success.

Slough Observer

The day after the award ceremony, the Slough Observer ran the following article on their website. It is really appreciated by the pub to get local recognition like this. Thats to the Observer!

18th Sept 2024: Image courtesy of the Slough Observer by Newsquest Media Group Ltd.

Mail Online

The day after the award ceremony, the Mail Online ran the following article on their website. We were proud to appear in the national press in this way.

18th Sept 2024: Image courtesy of the Mail Online by Associated Newspapers Ltd.

The Sun

The day after the award ceremony, The Sun ran the following article on their website. Wow! thanks to the team at The Sun for including us in their national article about the GBPA.

18th Sept 2024: Image courtesy of The Sun by News Group Newspapers Limited.

BBC Radio Berkshire

On Sunday 7th July, our General Manager, Micky Foden-Andrews, was interviewed on Radio Berkshire. During her regular Sunday Afternoon show, Erika North talked to Micky about being a finalist in the GBPA and also what is going on in the pub during July. He certainly has a face for radio! And has been invited back too.

Royal Borough Radio

Richard Allen, director of the CIC, and Trudy Lowe, Friend of The Swan, were interviewed for the local online community show. Previously The Swan has been discussed sbout our 'Chatty Café'. This time it was regarding bring a finalist in the Great British Pub Awards.

Windsor & Eton Express

The long running local newspaper The Express had an article on Friday 28th June.

CamrAngle #72 Winter 24/25

You can read about how The Swan was named the UK's Best Community Pub Award in the Great British Pub Awards in this excellent CAMRA feature article. Please click on the page to get a HiRes version of it.

We're More Than A Pub

At The Swan, we strive to go the extra mile.

When we first brought the community together to 'Save Our Swan', many were drawn to the unique involvement of a school being part of the pub. More so it has shown how 'communit' should be a part of every young person's education. 'It takes a village to raise a child'.

The Swan is a safe space for all, not only giving a sense of belonging to our pupils, but also our locals, our 'Chatty table' regulars, our volunteers and every new face that walks through the door. There is strength in our diversity. We're proud of the culture that has grown up at The Swan, making us more than just a pub.

We're At The Heart Of The Community

Since reopening in 2019, The Swan has certainly put the heart back into the community of Clewer Village and beyond. The Swan has become an increasingly popular destination for the community’s 'hatches, matches and dispatches'. Most pleasingly, customers, as in the recent case of the celebration of the life of Renee, our oldest customer, often choose to widen these private occasions to involve the rest of the community in the pub.

With Lots Going On

The Swan prides itself on not only on the quantity but also the quality and the variety of things going on. From interest groups and clubs to parties and music gigs, there is something going on almost everyday at The Swan. Usually the domain of community centres or private rooms, all our groups and activities are held in full sight of all, in the warm embrace of the pub. Opening the door for people to try new things, meet new people and find their tribe.

Where Everyone Is Welcome

The Swan not only promotes inclusivity, but, moreover, it is one of our core values and as such, it is central to our very being. Recognising that some customers come to The Swan on their own, we have put initiatives which promote inclusivity at the top of our agenda. The highlight of this is our 'Chatty Cafe', hosted by one of our volunteers, held every Friday with the aim of brightening the day of those who might otherwise feel isolated. Initially featured on BBC local radio and now promoted via word of mouth, this initiative is going from strength to strength. As a regular 'Chatty’ table attendee says about The Swan “It's a place where strangers come together and find themselves part of a great local community. Everyone is given a warm welcome, whatever their background, and there's nothing better than a drink and a chat to make you feel included”.

The Swan prides itself on being dog-friendly, child-friendly and cyclist-friendly - hosting Windsor Cycle Hub every Saturday. Whether they wish to pay electronically - or still prefer cash - we are more than happy to accommodate their needs. We are proud to welcome the young, the old and the young at heart.

And A Unique Story To Tell

Every enterprise likes to think they are unique – but The Swan has justifiable claims to be seen as truly unique in many ways. It is the only location in Britain to house a pub and a school on the same site and the only pub co-owned by a brewery, a school & the local Community.

Purchased by The Swan Clewer Community Interest Company in 2019 to bring a historic pub back to life , it has been lovingly refurbished and renovated by a dedicated and talented team of volunteers (our Weekday Warriors) with the kind support of local benefactors… the Swan Heroes.

With on-site education, The Green Room College provides students with life skills , so that they can access further education, employment, apprenticeships or other enterprises.

Members of the community have volunteered as 'Swan Elders', giving an insight into their own life experiences and helping the students to broaden their perspective on what the future may offer, thus creating a virtuous circle.

Moreover, The Swan has been recognised and celebrated for its community engagement and ethos. To this end we believe it is the true definition of a community hero.

The Swan has been here since the 18th century and with the community's support, our aim is to leave a legacy for many more centuries to come.

The Swan won the 'Keeping The Community Entertained' category in the 2020 Great British Pub Awards on September, 24th. Through a community vote, our wide range of activities during the Covid lockdown were recognised. Our blend of pub, school and community both face-to-face and online is unique.

We have received £10,000 for our Kitchen Renovation Project. This is excellent news and has allowed us to negage with contractors to accelrate the re-development. Thank you to Sky and Coca-Cola.

Family Friends

As part of our Great British Pub Awards win, one of the sponsors, Coca-Cola, awarded The Swan £1000 to donate to our chosen charity for 2020, Family Friends. We were delighted to welcome Tracy Muschamp and Simon Foy from Family Friends to the pub on Wednesday to be presented with the cheque. Now, more than ever, charities need financial help to keep up their excellent work so the timing of this donation couldn’t be better. Thank you to Coca-Cola for your generosity.

These are some of the photos taken by the press to record the event.

The Annoucement

The event was streamed live with Stephen Mulhern taking us through a roller coaster of emotions. Our category was one of the very first which caught us slightly unaware. The video of that segment is accessible here, just click on the picture below to start the video. We acknowledge that is is from the GPBA and is actually owned by them.

Apart from those who appeared in the video, we would also like to thank all the others who contributed either seen or unseen to the video. Your part was just as essential in getting this fantastic video and the result. Also thanks to Doug Seeburg, photgrapher extraordinaire!

In The Press

We are pleased to say that our success was picked up in both local and national press. It is quite a thing for Windsor and Berkshire as a whole, and a good news story when further covid measures had just been introduced. Here are just a few of the articles that have been produced.

The Build-Up

A film crew came to The Swan on Monday 14th September. There aim was to interview a cross-section of people who had been involved in The Swan during lockdown. From these they would edit it down to a 3-minute segment that will be published online. And if we win, then it will be plaid on the night.

We have some photos of the morning on our filming for the GPBAs page.

Our Entry

The Swan Clewer Community Interest Company formed in 2018 to renovate a derelict Victorian coaching inn, whilst at the same time creating a community pub with a difference! We share our space with sixth form students of The Green Room – a local school giving young people who have struggled with mainstream education the chance to lead brilliant lives. We are a unique, fully inclusive community hub owned and run by a diverse group of investors, staff and volunteers.

After an encouraging first six months of trading, 2020 started full of hope; planning our first beer festival and first anniversary, but then we had to close our doors…. However, whilst the lights went dark in the pub, the buzz that we had created within the local community was far from quiet! With a very diverse customer base, we realised that in these strange times, our responsibility extended beyond the usual bar room chat. So, The The Friends of The Swan group, who plan many of the pub’s events, decided to help combat the potential loneliness and isolation of lockdown. Some of our existing groups immediately moved online.

With people having more time to read our Monday night book club increased their membership and frequency of meetings. Our sewing group also started to meet via Zoom, planning and making bunting to decorate our courtyard post-lockdown.

In our first big online event, over 30 households registered via the online booking system we designed, to play bingo on Zoom. There were no prizes, but lucky winners secured a ticket on an “all-inclusive virtual cruise”.

Our Quiz is always a popular night, so we launched a Zoom version, introducing a very successful ‘guest round’, where a local charity, environmental group and others got a chance to share their message in a fun and interactive way.

Sunday teatimes saw us ‘Dancing Through the Decades’ with a local singing duo via a series of Facebook Live gigs.

Our YouTube channel introduced ‘Rachel Reads’ – where one of our volunteers recorded bedtime stories to help frazzled parents.

No fees were charged for our events; we just asked for a voluntary donation of the cost of your usual drink in the pub, if you had enjoyed yourself. Funds were shared between our kitchen refurbishment fund and our nominated local charity – raising over £500 for their work with families in crisis.

We kept in touch with the wider community via our weekly email updates that are regularly read by over 600 people. Supported by social media posts across Facebook, Twitter and Instagram; our website and local radio, these provide an update on what is happening at the pub, advertise our events and during lockdown, reassured everyone that we would be back! We found we had more to say than ever!

After over 30 online events across 12 weeks with between 10 and 50 attendees, aged from 9 to 98, plus a range of other communications and activities, we are proud to say, community spirit is alive and well.

The Friends of The Swan

Here are some of the team that were involved.