Staff at Greenhead High School are throwing their support behind a former colleague who almost lost her grandson to meningitis.

Pat Parrish's grandson Joel Birks, from Cononley, was left fighting for his life in November, 1999 when he contracted meningitis and septicaemia, the blood-poisoning form of the disease and one of the most life threatening.

Thankfully Joel, now five, has since made a full recovery and his dad Peter is running in the London Marathon to raise more than £1,000 for the Menin-gitis Research Foundation.

Pat used to be head of language development at Greenhead until she left to take up another post four years ago. Senior teacher Marilyn Boyd says: "Pat contacted us and asked if we could support Peter's run in the marathon. She is still held in high regard by staff here and we were only too happy to support Peter.

"We all know what Pat and her family went through when Joel was in Airedale hospital and how devastating meningitis can be, so it is a very worthy cause." The family is raising cash that will go towards research into a vaccine to combat both the B and C strain of the meningitis virus. Anyone wishing to sponsor Peter can contact him on 01535630632.

Students at Greenhead will have the chance to brush up on their exam skills during the Easter break. The school is running revision classes for GCSE pupils during the Easter and Spring Bank holidays.

Study support co-ordinator Naj Khalid will oversee the Easter School that will provide help and advice about revising for a range of subjects.

Marilyn Boyd says: "The aim is to allow students to access additional help in preparation for their forthcoming GCSE's. It is the third year that we have run the workshops and they have proved to be very popular with students who have felt the benefits when it comes to exam time. A big thanks should go to the members of staff who have volunteered their free time to organise these sessions."

The timetable is: Monday - GCSE PE. Tuesday morning - GNVQ Part 1, French and Spanish; afternoon - Urdu. Wednesday - Expressive Arts all day; Media and GNVQ Part1 in the morning. Thursday - English all day; GNVQ Part 1 in the morning. Revision sessions will begin again on Wednesday, April 18 with higher maths in the morning, geography on Thursday morning and history all day Friday.

There will be no canteen facilities so students are advised to bring a packed lunch. The sixth form common room will be available for lunch and breaks.