Kes Community Raises Over £30,000 for Cancer Research Uk and Macmillan Cancer

Over the past two years, the School has supported two charities very close to the KES community's heart; Cancer Research UK and Macmillan Cancer Support and raised a quite incredible £32,000.

Fundraising has come in the form of all kinds of events and activities.  Last year the annual Halloween Bake Off kick-started the new academic year's fundraising efforts, showcasing some spectacular edible creations. When it came to the Easter Bake Off in KES Aid Week, not only did the bakers have to maintain amazingly high culinary standards but even contest with hazardous snowy conditions to get their delicious entries to the Wessex Building all in one piece! The rest of the week was packed with a host of fundraising events, from the annual Royal High and staff netball matches to the bombastic Lower School Bingo (a special mention to the wonderful Mrs Tamblyn who easily has another career option in Bingo calling!). A particular highlight of the KES Aid Week was an insightful talk from consultant radiologist, Dr Sarah Willson, who came from Guy's Hospital, London to discuss the necessary requirements of a successful cancer screening programme.  

The arrival of the summer term led to KES members donning their walking and running footwear to provide a final fundraising push. The Bougeards swapped their weekly timetables for the heights of the Camino di Santiago, raising over £1,500 for Macmillan during the 500-mile walk which was doubtless monitored avidly by many via the duo's twitter feed. For the second year in a row, the Bath Race for Life welcomed Team KES to its course, with some runners significantly increasing the challenge by attempting the 10km race; which, incidentally, was won by Year 9 running whizz, Emily Maclean. At least £1,000 was raised by our wonderful team of runners and walkers. 

As is routine, it is now time to select a new charity to support for the forthcoming year.  As always, pupils are invited to select a new charity partner, and after voting earlier on in the term we are delighted to announce that this year King Edward's will be supporting two charities; the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and Off the Record. 

The WWF is the world’s leading independent conservation organisation. Their work spans many projects aiming to tackle the impact of climate change and human activity. At a time when the health of our planet seems so fragile, it does not come as a surprise that members of the KES community felt that this is a worthwhile cause to support. 

Off the Record is a local charity which promotes the emotional health and wellbeing of young people. It provides free, confidential advice, support and counselling to people between the ages of 10 and 25 who live in the Bath and North East Somerset area. I hope that in supporting this charity we can raise awareness of some of the issues that our own pupils struggle with. 

On Monday 5 November the annual Halloween Bake Off competition will commence the school’s fundraising efforts for our two newly selected charities. This event has become a hallmark of the charity calendar, with both pupils and staff taking great care over their efforts. Entrants will have the whole half term to perfect their edible creations! 

Finally, I would like to thank you for your support for Macmillan and Cancer Research UK over the last two years. Raising over £30,000 for these two charities demonstrated the huge enthusiasm and passion the school community had for the work undertaken by these two organisations.

Miss O FitzGerald, KES Charity Co-ordinator.