IT was all aboard at Feckenham First School when they handed over a bumper sum of money to the RNLI.
The pupils had done a project on the Grace Darling, the lighthouse keeper’s daughter who in 1838 rowed to the rescue of survivors of the Forfarshire, a ship wrecked off the Farne Islands in the north east of England.
Her actions are immortalised in a museum in the Northumberland town of Bamburgh and her story inspired the youngsters to tell her tale, make their own model lighthouses and start fundraising for the Royal National Lifeboat Institute.
They baked cakes with the help of mums and dads, held raffles and did all sorts of things to bring the money in, raising an amazing £736.98 for the charity.
There to thank the children and hand out certificates of appreciation was RNLI education officer John Bartholomew, who told the youngsters it cost £176million a year to keep the lifeboats afloat and our shores safe.
He added their efforts were invaluable as the organisation receives no financial help at all from the government and that morning alone six lifeboats had been launched across Britain’s shores to rescue people in peril.
“This money is helping our volunteer crews to save lives at sea,” he said.
“What the children have done here is fantastic and I’m sure they had fun raising the money too.”
Teacher Iona Bray who together with colleague Tanya Welsh brought the Grace Darling story to life, said: “The children were really inspired by her story and their parents were really supportive allowing us to raise this wonderful sum for the RNLI.”
The RNLI in Worcestershire does free talks on the work of the charity – visit RNLI.org for more details.
