Grey Coat stages 24 hour weekend lesson

11th December 2006

Twenty-five of our Sixth Formers are recovering from a 24 hour lesson which took place over the weekend in aid of the charity Education Action International (EAI). The fundraising activity involved a lesson from 12 noon on Saturday 9^th December until 12 noon on Sunday 10^th December 2006. The event was as part of the charity work the school is doing for EAI. EAI work in areas affected by conflict, such as Africa and the Middle East, and ensure that refugees and other groups receive the basic human right of a quality education. In May, Mr Dane, Head of RE, visited refugee camps in Lebanon to work with EAI and he is now working with the school to raise £5,000 for the charity. The 24 hour lesson was just one of the many events and activities that have taken place in order to achieve this goal.

Led by Mr Dane, students were taught by a number of teachers for 24 hours, with no sleep in between, although by law they were given the option to rest if needed. Over fifty students applied to take part in the event, with the selection of them based on how much money they could realistically receive through sponsorship.

Local businesses got involved to assist the students in keeping them awake –  mostly through food; Waitrose gave £100 in food vouchers to keep the students going, Starbucks gave chocolate bars and La Tasca restaurant gave desserts. A number of teachers gave up their weekend to take part in the event, whether this was done by actually teaching the students, or coming in especially to cook dinner or breakfast for the students. Please see some of the pictures below from this event: