Pupils from Leen Mills Primary School in Hucknall have raised more than £6,000 for Nottingham Hospitals Charity after their friend was diagnosed with bone cancer. In November last year, 10-year-old Oliver Shilton was diagnosed with cancer in his hip - leaving his family in "complete shock and despair".
He is currently being cared for on children's cancer ward E39 at Nottingham Children's Hospital. In a way to thank ward E39 for looking after Oliver, pupils and teachers at the school decided to raise money.
The school took on a running challenge on February 10 to fundraise for Nottingham Hospitals Charity. Nichola Shilton, Oliver's mum, spoke about his awful diagnosis.
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She said: "Oliver loves playing football and rugby, but he had developed pain in his hip and leg, causing him to limp and no longer partake in his sports. He had severe pain during the night and had to have strong painkillers prescribed as paracetamol and ibuprofen weren't sufficient.
"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. We are still processing it as at any time we can be thrown a curve ball."
After Nichola told the school about Oliver's diagnosis, headteacher Karen Goldson approached her with an idea about raising money for Nottingham Hospitals Charity. Mrs Goldson said: "We were hit by the terrible news that Oliver had been diagnosed with bone cancer in his hip in November 2022.
"This was a lot for us all in school to deal with. We are a real family school and straight away lots of our parents wanted to show support.
"We thought about doing some fundraising, and his friends in his class were really keen to do something big to raise a lot of money. Oliver and his family are big England rugby fans so we decided to complete our first fundraising event to coincide with England's first 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.
“On February 10, all children took part in a run - half a mile for our foundation stage pupils, one mile for years one to four, and our year fives and sixes ran two miles. By the end of the morning, we had completed just over 460 miles altogether - and the teachers all got involved too."
The school managed to raise more than £6,000 for Nottingham Hospitals Charity. Nichola said: "Honestly it's incredible what they have been able to do in such a short space of time.
"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. Not just the staff but his fellow pupils."
The money raised for Nottingham Hospitals Charity will be donated to children's cancer ward E39. It will help fund things like crafts activities, specialist medical equipment, games and play equipment for patients, and enhancements to make the ward more child-friendly.
Oliver is halfway through completing 14 cycles of chemotherapy and will also receive radiotherapy during his final five cycles. During his treatment, he stays on ward E39 and also has regular hospital stays if he is unwell in between cycles.
Speaking about the staff at Nottingham Children’s Hospital, which is based at the Queen's Medical Centre, Nichola said: "We couldn't ask for any more from everyone we have come into contact with at the hospital, especially ward E39. 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 while 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 who have raised a truly incredible amount of money in such a short space of time.
"These funds will make such a difference to other young patients like Oliver, being treated on ward E39. 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."
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