Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School raises funds for Little Sisters of the Poor
Students from St Thomas à Becket Catholic Secondary School in Wakefield have taken part in a five-week fundraising campaign to raise vital funds for the Little Sisters of the Poor Care Home in Leeds.
More than £3,000 has been raised to support the building of a convent and 25 sheltered housing apartments.
St Thomas à Becket Secondary School and Little Sisters of the Poor have forged a connection through the devastation caused by the discovery of RAAC (Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete) in their buildings in 2023.
The discovery of RAAC in buildings at St Thomas à Becket saw its overnight closure and a long period of disruption for students and staff.
RAAC was also discovered in the roof of the Little Sisters of the Poor care home in November 2023, and the residents and Little Sisters had to be relocated to new homes across the country.
The recent school fundraising campaign, spearheaded by Deputy Headteacher, Rebecca Ross, has seen form and year group fundraising efforts, as well as a whole school non-uniform day which also helped to boost funds.
Miss Ross said: “As a Catholic school, it is our duty to provide a comprehensive education in addition to our academic pursuits.
"The principles of Catholic Social Teaching guides our students to do God’s work and supporting charities is one of the ways in which we do so.
"Each half term we raise money for a specific charity and, after hearing about the plight of The Little Sisters, we chose to support them this year.
"Their plans are for 25 new sheltered housing apartments - with 25 forms in school, I set each one a challenge to raise at least £20.
"For every £20 they raised, we put a brick with their form initials on display.
"The students have really taken this campaign to heart as a result of our shared experiences, and this is the most we have raised for one single cause.”
“The discovery of RAAC was a big blow to our school, but we are fortunate that we have had the support of our Trust and Diocese alongside the support of the Department for Education.
"We now have several large high-quality, fully equipped portakabins on site which are working really well, and students are continuing to thrive in the new environment.
"We pray that the Little Sisters will soon be able to begin with their rebuild project and look forward to continuing to support them along the way.”
Planning permission to demolish and build a new convent and 25 sheltered housing apartments was submitted to Leeds City Council in 2024 with a decision expected imminently.
The rebuild is expected to cost in excess of £16,000,000 with the charity hoping to be able to secure grant funding, to boost the community fundraising efforts.
Sister Christina, Little Sisters of the Poor, said: “We are so grateful to St Thomas à Becket Catholic school for all their fundraising efforts; to all teachers, staff, pupils and their families at this difficult time, especially when they themselves have experienced these difficult times too!
"We thank them all so much for reaching out to us with their kind help and support.
“We have waited almost two years now for permission from Leeds City Council to demolish our old home and begin the rebuild. We desperately want to be able to continue to care for the elderly of Modest Means in Leeds and continue the work of our foundress, St.Jeanne Jugan, as we have done for over 160 years.”
St Thomas à Becket is part of the Department for Education’s School Rebuilding Programme with plans for the new buildings currently in the early design stages.