Fundraising for Sierra Leone

On Friday students across the senior school wore blue, green and white mufti, representing the Sierra Leone flag, to raise funds for the forthcoming trip to Freetown, following a week of fundraising activities across the school. Eleven Year 13 students, led by Michael Meally and supported by Jules Desmarchelier who is leading the fundraising part of the project, will be travelling to the Sierra Leone capital during the October break along with Old Wellensian Johanna Harrison, a mezzo-soprano who travelled to Freetown in 2010, as part of one of the first Wells trips to the country. The students, many of them musicians, will be working in our partner school, the Ballanta Music Academy, teaching one-to-one instrumental music lessons. They will also be holding several formal concerts for members of the British diplomatic corps, including the British High Commissioner, in Freetown and several out-reach concerts for local primary schools. Other students will be working in the JT Reffell French memorial primary school, teaching art, drama, sport, English, maths and French. The group will be staying at the Family Kingdom resort in Freetown, right beside the beach. Earlier in the week, students sold chocolate crêpes, cakes and badges, and took part in Piñata activities to raise funds to help the students in Freetown.