The Cockburn Multi-academy Trust schools in South Leeds have worked wonders to raise almost £4,000 for a number of extremely worthy causes over recent months.
This work plays a big part in developing the character of the young people in the community and all of the schools pay great importance to this.
At Middleton Primary School, the theme for Children in Need 2023 was ‘SPOTacular’, and the children came to school dressed in all things spotty and of course Pudsey bear made an appearance too.
There were various activities throughout the day to highlight this fantastic cause and the children made a small contribution to the charity. Throughout the term they also raised money for breast cancer awareness and research by ‘wearing it Pink’.
As well as wearing their favourite pink clothes, the children learnt about what the charity does and how their donations are used to support those less fortunate.
Another wonderful charity that benefited from the fund raising in school was ‘Jeans for Genes’. The children wore denim on the day in return for a small contribution to the charity that supports children and families with genetic conditions. The parents and families of Middleton Primary School are always so generous with their donations, and the children are so eager to learn and understand what the different charities do to support people.
Finally, the biggest fundraiser of the term raised over £860 for Andy’s Man Club, a charity supporting mental health. The children took part in a sponsored read, where they were sponsored by their families at home to read as much as they could across the week.
Cockburn School raised £716 for the Kyle Asquith Foundation from nightly raffles before the Mary Poppins performances in December. Winners on each night won food hampers with items donated by the staff at Cockburn School.
A group of Year 9 students focused their energy on collecting for the Leeds South and East Foodbank. This work contributed to them being awarded Platinum cockerel badges – the highest recognition of character, contribution, hard work and social action. These students, along with the Head Girl and Head Boy, travelled to the food bank to deliver the food they had collected.
Cockburn John Charles Academy also had a raffle, this time for staff, with a selection of prizes donated by staff and a pair of Leeds United tickets donated by LUFC. This raffle raised £270 for their Verona McShane Foundation, a charity established by the school in memory of their teacher who sadly passed away in 2020 to support families in the south Leeds area who may be facing hardship or poverty.
All three of the Cockburn MAT secondary schools had non-uniform days on the last day of term before the Christmas holidays and raised £1,498 for the Save the Children Gaza Emergency Fund. Months of unrelenting fighting and deprivation in Gaza have left thousands of children dead, while those who survive face continued war, siege, hunger and unimaginable loss. £11 could help them buy 24 bottles of drinking water or a ‘School in a bag kit’. £38 could help them give a family a baby kit to care for a little one. £66 could provide a family with an essential food parcel or a first aid kit.
David Gurney, Executive Headteacher, said:
“I am extremely proud of all of the students and staff across the Cockburn MAT schools for their commitment to raising funds for charities, both near and far.
“Our schools are in the heart of the community and developing the character of our students is a crucial part of what we do. Our students are very proud of their contribution to charity work and many wear their platinum cockerel badges as a result of this.”
Total funds raised across the Cockburn MAT: £3,893.
This post is based on a press release issued by Cockburn Multi-academy Trust
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