Schoolchildren see red to raise £930 (From Wilts and Gloucestershire Standard)

Schoolchildren at primary schools in Cirencester, North Cerney, Rodmarton and Down Ampney see red to raise £930 for the British Heart Foundation’s Rock up in Red day last Friday

4:00pm Saturday 9th February 2013 in News By Ian Craig

GENEROUS schoolchildren raised a hearty £930 for charity last week.

Pupils at primary schools in Cirencester, North Cerney, Rodmarton and Down Ampney, collected bags of change and wore red clothes to school for the British Heart Foundation’s Rock up in Red day last Friday.

Gill Mackellar-Still, whose 21-year-old son James suffers from the rare heart condition Wolfe Parkinson White Syndrome, arranged the fundraising activities and said they went “brilliantly”.

“We’ve got around £930 in change sitting in a Tesco trolley at the moment,” she said.

“It was a fabulous day – all the pupils looked very silly.”

The Lewis Lane Playgroup – which last year received a flood of support from Standard readers after its treasurer stole £8,000 from its accounts – even got involved.

Gill, an administrator at Cirencester and North Cerney Primary Schools, said all the children had spent the day learning how to keep their hearts healthy. “The older children at Cirencester Primary did some circuit training and really got their hears pumping,” she said.

North Cerney pupils Olympia Thompson and Daniel Flanagan-Rose even put on their own play at home for family and friends to raise money for the campaign.

Gill added anyone with more donations was welcome to drop it off to Cirencester or North Cerney Primary Schools so they could smash their target of £1,000.