A Suffolk primary school has raised an “amazing” £8,400 for the hospice that cared for a “kind and loving” teaching assistant before her death from cancer earlier this year.
Pupils and staff at Broke Hall Primary School in Ipswich presented St Elizabeth Hospice with funds raised from a walk in memory of Cathy McLean at an assembly.
Year six teacher Ellis Corbett said Mrs McLean was “kind, caring and loving” and an “amazingly talented” teaching assistant who inspired many.
She said the school wanted to show its support for the dedicated staff at the hospice, where Mrs McLean spent her final days.
A group of 30 Broke Hall staff, under the name Cathy’s Crusaders, took part in the 12-mile Midnight Walk around Ipswich on Saturday, May 20, which is one of the charity’s biggest fundraising events.
The next Monday, some 670 pupils took part in their own “Sunwalk” on the school field, with parents volunteering to help run it.
Each year group was given 40 minutes to walk as far as they could with the aim of completing as many 12-mile equivalents of the Midnight Walk as possible.
In all, the children completed an impressive 7,727 laps of the 200 metre track, which works out as 948 miles – or the distance between Ipswich and Rome.
Miss Corbett said the school had “absolutely smashed” its £5,000 fundraising target, with the latest total reaching £8,463.
“When we set the target we thought it was high, but had faith our children and staff could do it,” she said. “Every day, by the hundreds of pounds, the money just kept coming and the total was going up and up.”
Miss Corbett said everyone at the school had been “devastated” by the loss of Mrs McLean and the fundraising was a reflection of how much she meant to people.
“I was so proud of the children and I think what they’ve done really reiterates how close we are as a school here at Broke Hall,” she added.
St Elizabeth Hospice’s Catherine Sheppard praised the school’s “wonderful” donation.
“We’re always amazed at how far our supporters will go for us,” she added. “The children weren’t old enough to take part in the Midnight Walk, but that didn’t stop them so they went and organised their own walk instead. We look forward to seeing them on the Midnight Walk in the future.”
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