Fairfield pupils step up to help local brothers walk
Pupils at Fairfield Preparatory School in Loughborough put their best foot forward to take local twin boys a step closer to standing and walking independently.
They raised £3,353.30 for William and Arthur Warner by taking part in a whole school sponsored walk around the Endowed Schools’ campus in the summer term. Pupils in Year 5 boosted the fundraising effort by taking part in the Young Enterprise Fiver Challenge, forming their own mini businesses with £5, marketing their products to their peers and selling the things they’d created to make a profit.
William and Arthur from Rothley, Leicestershire, were born prematurely in 2012, at just 28 weeks and 6 days. When they were 20 months old, they were diagnosed as having Spastic Diplegia, a form of Cerebral Palsy, which affects the muscle tone in their legs, making it difficult and uncomfortable for them to learn to walk normally.
Their family is raising money to fund life-changing surgery which could help the boys stand independently and possibly take their very first steps. The minimum cost of the surgery and the physiotherapy needed afterwards for each of the boys is £50,000.
The brothers’ mum, Gaynor Warner, was delighted to return to the school to receive the cheque. She said:
“Simon and I are overwhelmed by the support and efforts of all of the pupils who raised this incredible amount. This is going to make such a difference to William and Arthur’s future. It’s going to be a very exciting time after Christmas as we will be heading down to London for William’s operation and we promise to keep you updated on his and Arthur’s progress.”
Fairfield Preparatory School’s headmaster, Andrew Earnshaw, commented:
“We are thrilled to be able to help such a worthwhile, local cause which has captured the imagination of the whole school. William and Arthur were a true inspiration to get us all walking and the staff and pupils are very much looking forward to welcoming the boys back into Fairfield in the near future.”
