A school in London has raised a staggering £10,000 for the ROH Charitable Fund, to say thank you for the care the hospital provided for a teacher’s relative.

Alleyn’s School, in Dulwich, South London, is a co-educational school for pupils aged four to 18. The school has eight houses, each made up of around 200 students. Every year, the houses vote for a charity to support. Last year, one of the houses, Tulley’s, chose to support the Trust’s charity after hearing about the experience their own housemaster, Jude Fitzgerald, had with the hospital.

Jude’s mother was a long-term patient at the hospital when she was treated for sarcoma. She was brought to the ROH from Lancashire, and spent several months there. Jude credits Professor Abudu, Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon at the ROH, with saving her mother’s life.

The pupils decided to choose the charity as a chance to say thank you for the care the ROH provided, and make a difference to the hospitals future. Jude said: “I entered the charity into the mix on a whim. We don’t influence the children in anyway and we let them choose what they are most supportive of. In this case it was The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, which was really lovely for me, as I have such a personal connection with the hospital.”

Lots of fundraising events were held to keep the number of donations growing. The school held everything from dinner parties and talent shows to lip sync battles and a Mario Kart tournament, played out on a giant screen. The majority of the money came from a charity ball featuring a live auction with gifts donated by the pupils’ parents, performances from the students themselves and food and drink sales.

Jo Williams, Chief Executive at The Royal Orthopaedic Hospital, said: “To all the fabulous students and staff at Alleyn’s School, we are so grateful for your hard work. It is an amazing amount of money to raise and on behalf of the team at the ROH, thank you – we are truly overwhelmed.”

The money was collected by ROH Associate Medical Director Mr John Va Faye, and representatives from the ROH Charitable Fund and communications team. They had the opportunity to enjoy a special lunch with staff and a group of students, some of whom were involved with the fundraising from beginning to end. The group discussed future opportunities the Trust could work with Alleyn’s and will ensure the funds go towards something the children are passionate about.

We cant thank the staff members and pupils enough for their passion to support us. We will be engaging them in the near future of how their funds will impact patients at ROH.