Funding boost for Duchess's High School Trust pushes 2021 total to £38,000

Duchess's Community High School in Alnwick.

The Big Give Christmas Challenge is the UK’s biggest online match funding campaign, giving participating charities the opportunity to have their donation doubled on theBigGive.org.uk during the campaign week.

The DCHS Trust had already secured promises of £2,000 from local businesses and set an ambitious target to match this during the Christmas Challenge week.

Despite the fact that the area is still feeling the after effects of Storm Arwen, the target was met a full day ahead of schedule. It is testament to the generosity of the local community and something that in a time like this, should be celebrated.

Co-headteacher James Wilson said: “We cannot thank the local community enough, and we wanted to take the opportunity to thank those that not only donated during the Big Give, but those that have been able to give so generously throughout the year.”

The Duchess’s High School Trust chair, Katherine Williams, added: “Thank you to everyone who has donated. We know it has been an incredibly difficult week in north

Northumberland but, as usual, our amazing community is pulling together.

"Together we can make 2022 a better year for our children who have missed out on so much in 2020 and 2021. Whether you donated £1 or £100, your donation has made a difference.”

This latest fundraising initiative tops off a very successful year for the Trust.

So far during 2021, £38,000 has been raised to support projects and activities that support the students of the Duchess’s Community High School, in particular mitigating some of the difficulties associated with growing up in a rural community.

Co-head Alan Rogers added: “The Trust has allowed opportunities for our students that simply would not have been possible without additional fundraising. Thanks again to all that have supported the charity throughout the year.”

There are still ways to support the Trust now the Big Give has ended. The Trust is an option for the Co-op community fund in the area, the school lottery continues to raise hundreds of pounds, and donations can be made directly on the Trust website: http://www.dchs-trust.org.uk