Fearnville Primary pupils raise £2,250 for Turkey and Syria

Pupils at Fearnville Primary School in Tyersal were left devastated by the disaster, which has claimed over 50,000 lives, and said they wanted to make a difference to those who have lost loved ones and been left homeless.

A bake-off and a penalty shoot-out at the school, supported by local businesses, helped to raise a total of £2,250 last week.

“We wanted to raise money to help, because what happened was devastating,” said year five pupil Patrick Tordoff.

“Babies and parent have died, it’s really sad.

“The money we raised will be used to buy food, blankets and tents for everyone, so they won’t be cold at night.”

Fearnville pupils were moved by the harrowing footage of the quake they saw on the news, asking their teachers why it happened, and why poor people were some of the worst affected, said religious studies teacher Shazma Khan - who helped to organise the fundraiser, along with year three teacher Furhana Adams.

Students had already raised money for victims of the Ukraine war last year, something they took pride in.

“The earthquake was really shocking and said,” said Kathleen Maughan, another year five pupil.

“So many children in Turkey and Syria have died, they won’t be able to go to school and learn, and their families will be really sad.

“It has made me grateful for what I have.”

Tekla Dudashvili, a year three pupil, added: “I hope we can help the people there by raising money,” while Riley Feather, also in year three, said: “I feel devastated and sad, and I hope we can help.”

Tekla Dudashvili with Wahid Zaman, CEO of Nurture Trust Academy (Image: Telegraph & Argus)

Ms Khan described the students’ achievements as amazing.

“The children asked why this happened to people who were already poor, and in a war-torn country like  Syria. It opened up a lot of conversations at school,” she said.

“They were really emotional about it. It was shocking for them.

“We have some younger children at Fearnville who are from Syria, so that makes it an issue which is especially important and close to our school.

“It’s a very hard time for everybody at the moment, with the cost of living crisis, but it’s nice that we managed to get together as a community and support this cause.

“The support from local businesses, like Mughals on Leeds Road and MyLahore in Leeds, has also been fantastic.”