Games, gunge and cake! Linslade's Cedars Upper School raises over £5k for charities during annual Help Week

A Linslade school's annual Help Week has raised over £5,000 for charity.

Staff and pupils at Cedars Upper School held events including bake sales, student shows, fancy dress, and the traditional 'gunging of teachers' – where cups of baked bean concoctions were thrown over the willing participants.

This year, the funds raised will go to support the Leighton Linslade Helpers Foodbank, Cancer Research UK and UNICEF, which were chosen by the students.

Mark Gibbs, headteacher, said: “What a fantastic achievement for all of our community to raise money for those less fortunate than ourselves at this time. The camaraderie and teamwork from our senior students typifies the Cedars values and ethos.”

During Covid-19, the annual tradition was scaled back and this is the first year since 2020 that the school community has seen it in full swing, "which has been fantastic".

Senior students said: “We wanted to stick to the tradition of having a local, national and international charity this year.

“It’s been amazing planning Help Week and watching our plans come to life, it’s taken so long but it’s been so worth it!

"We’ve raised so much money, and we’re so grateful to everyone who’s joined in and contributed.

"Help Week really brings together the school community, which is what Cedars is all about.”

Heads of school, Melanie Norman and Leah Ferguson-Moore said: “We are incredibly proud of all our students’ involvement and their enthusiasm for the activities to raise money for such important charities.”

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