Kind hearts and classrooms

Jamie Aitken with some of the pupils who raised a stunning £15,000 for Malawi.

Working with Glasgow-based charity, Classrooms for Malawi (CfM), the pupils have raised £15,000, which will be used for projects in the area.

And senior pupils are poised to head out to Malawi to visit their partner school, Ekwendeni.

Earlier this year, the kids decided they wanted to do more for their African friends and contacted CfM to see if they could help.

Representatives from Classrooms for Malawi had visited Ekwendeni and found that one of the schools — a four-classroom block for special needs students — was in dire need of repair.

A full renovation was required with new windows, doors and roof along with work done on crumbling walls to make them safe.

When the Williamwood pupils heard about this, they stepped into action with various fundraising options.

Then, a few months ago, they were given the news that a nearby under-5s nursery had been destroyed in bad weather.

The Williamwood community took this on board and devised a way to help their overseas friends: they committed to building a new, two-classroom nursery and last week the presented CfM with a cheque for £15,000.

Jamie Aitken from CfM said: “There has been an incredible effort by the Williamwood school community.

“To have raised so much in such a short space of time is staggering, but it is also the way in which the whole school has embraced the partnership, and Classroom for Malawi, that I think is amazing.”