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Tuesday 19th February
Lower and Middle School

Sponsored Swim (Pool)

This afternoon, pupils from the Lower and Middle School with, for the first time, Year 4 pupils from Bellan House, our pre-prep department, will be challenging themselves in a sponsored swim in the school pool.

Through their efforts, and with the help of the Rotary Club of Oswestry, they will be raising money for three worthwhile charities.

Firstly, the LEAP Science and Maths School for the children of the Langa Township, Cape Town.  Over the past few years, pupils from Oswestry School have been raising money for LEAP.  Last year we raised £2,000 which was sent to LEAP to buy books and equipment for their new library.  LEAP is unusual, it is the only privately funded MST (Maths, Science and Technology) school in South Africa, having a clear focus to create and maintain a structured learning environment that will allow each young person to develop fully as a human being and to develop a positive, caring lifestyle and appropriate work ethic.  Pupils selected to attend must sign and then abide by a Code of Conduct to retain their place.  Oswestry School has a direct link with LEAP as Mr Duffett, formerly an English teacher at Oswestry School, has recently returned to his native South Africa to work at LEAP.  The photos here were taken when the Oswestry School Netball Tour of South Africa visited LEAP in July 2007.

This year, through the swim and other projects our target is again £2,000 to fund a new computer facility - we have raised £600 so far.

The second charity is ChildLine (www.childline.org.uk).  ChildLine is the UK's free, 24-hour helpline for children in distress or danger.  About 1,400 trained volunteer counsellors comfort, advise and protect children and young people who may feel they have nowhere else to turn.  Every day around 4,500 children call ChildLine, but lack of funds means that only 2,500 of them will get through to their counsellors for comfort, advice and protection.  Childline is a service of the NSPCC.

Finally, we are supporting ShelterBox.  The ShelterBox Trust (www.shelterbox.org) is a registered UK charity that provides emergency aid in the form of shelter, warmth and comfort to people displaced by natural and other disasters anywhere in the world.  Since operations began in January 2001, they have helped an estimated 500,000 people and worked in more than 40 countries – responding to earthquakes, floods, hurricanes, tsunamis, wars, volcanoes etc.  Click here to see what is in a ShelterBox.

ShelterBox was set up by the Rotary Club of Helston-Lizard and all aid is distributed from their base in Cornwall.  The charity is supported by international affiliates set up by Rotary clubs in various other countries, including Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, New Zealand and the USA.