Hucknall school pupils raise more than £6,000 in support of young friend with bone cancer

Oliver Shilton, aged 10, was diagnosed with cancer in his hip last November and is being cared for on children’s cancer ward E39 at Nottingham Children’s Hospital.

His teachers and friends at Leen Mills decided to raise money for ward E39 to thank them for looking after Oliver and took on a running challenge around the school field in aid of Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

Nichola Shilton, Oliver’s mum, said: “When we received Oliver’s diagnosis, we felt complete shock and despair.

“We were expecting to be told it was an infection in his bone, so in comparison easier to treat.

“Both Oliver and his younger brother Joseph, who’s eight, felt scared and we are still processing it as at any time we can be thrown a curve ball.”

Once Nichola had informed Oliver’s school about the news, she was approached by headteacher Karen Goldson with a fundraising idea for Nottingham Hospitals Charity.

Mrs Goldson said: “We are a real family school and straight away lots of our parents wanted to show support for Oliver and his family.

"Oliver and his family are big England rugby fans, so we decided to do something to coincide with England’s Six Nations game against Scotland.

"We worked out the distance from Murrayfield, the home of Scotland rugby, to Twickenham, the home of England rugby, and then split the distance between the number of pupils in school.

“All children then took part in a run, half a mile for our FoundationStage pupils, one mile for Years 1 to 4, while our Year 5s and 6s ran two miles.

“By the end of the morning, we had completed just more than 460 miles altogether, and the teachers all got involved too.

"The pupils and teachers raised an incredible total of just more than £6,000, with money still coming in.”

Nichola continued: “It is truly a staggering amount, we are so very grateful to Oliver’s school and all of the support they have shown us all.

“We are very lucky to have so many amazing people in his life.”

The money raised will help fund things like crafts activities, games and play equipment for patients, specialist medical equipment, and enhancements to make ward E39 at the children’s hospital more child-friendly.

Oliver is halfway through completing 14 cycles of chemotherapy, and will also receive radiotherapy during his final five cycles.

Nichola said: “We couldn’t ask for any more from everyone we have come into contact with at the hospital – they are worth their weight in gold.

“It is a very intense treatment plan he is on which is tough, but they do everything they can to put him at ease whilst also making sure he gets everything he needs.”

Lucy Dalgress, community fundraising manager at Nottingham Hospitals Charity, said: “We are so grateful to all the staff and pupils at Leen Mills School.

“No parent wants to see their child in hospital, but thanks to the support of everyone at Leen Mills School, we’ll be able to make hospital stays that little bit more comfortable and less daunting for young children like Oliver.”