Had it not been for the devastating earthquake and typhoon in the Philippines, the King James I Academy Marine Conservation Team would have currently been on a three week scuba diving adventure to the islands of Cebu and Bohol. There, students would have been working with local people to help preserve the coral reefs. Sadly, due to concerns about safety in the region, the expedition had to be cancelled, however this gave King James students another idea. The student team had spent months researching the islands and planning the trip, including taking scuba diving lessons and organising fundraising activities such as a bag pack at Asda in Bishop Auckland and a sponsored walk to help fund the expedition.
With the support of King James’ students and staff, and the Bishop Auckland community, the team raised over £1,000, which they felt should benefit the Filipino people. Students chose to donate the money to the Philippines Red Cross Appeal, which is still doing a huge amount of work to help local people who lost everything in the typhoons. Life on the islands is beginning to get back to normal but it will take years of work to fully recover from these natural disasters.
Some of the students have continued to learn to scuba dive with the support of Durham City Scuba and, due to the popularity of the sessions, the Academy is planning to offer scuba diving taster sessions for groups of King James students in the new academic year.
Science Teacher and expedition leader, Andrew Lawton said, “I am extremely proud of the empathy and generosity shown by our students in choosing to donate the money that they worked so hard to raise. I would like to thank everyone for helping us to raise so much, including Asda and the many local residents who supported us in the supermarket on the day of the bag pack.”
Bishop Auckland's local community newspaper.
