Sheffield students' big cake bake for children's hospice

Pupils at St Bernards, which offers support to youngsters on the verge of exclusion from Holgate Meadows Community School in Parson Cross, are raising money for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

They have already raised £70 through baking buns and selling them off at the school site and at bingo sessions in a nearby church.

They are planning even more charity events in the coming weeks.

Staff member Scott Thompson said: “A lot of our pupils struggle with their emotional, behavioural and social skills both in and out of the school environment. This is something St Bernards particularly focus on, in order to give them the life skills they will need to succeed.

“This term we are focusing on emotional skills and in particular ‘empathy and compassion’ for others. With this is mind, we tasked the pupils to think of how we could do this and how they would like to.”

He added: “The pupils decided that they would like to fund-raise for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice.

“Our pupils are often affected by their own backgrounds and life experiences, so taking on this task and thinking specifically about others is a challenge on it own for them.”

The youngsters hope to deliver the final total in person to staff at the hospice in North Anston on Wednesday, November 30.

Mr Thompson said he hopes seeing children battling serious illness will “help them to understand and develop their emotions.”

A hospice spokesperson said: “It costs over £4 million a year for us to help families and most of this comes from donations. Without fundraising we simply couldn’t continue our vital work.”