Pupils from Malvern St James will take part in a sponsored row later this month to raise funds for King’s College Hospital.
The land row will take place outside Waitrose in Malvern later this month and will aim to raise money for the hospital’s Critical Care Unit that treated former pupil, Kiko Matthews, for Cushing’s disease.
Kiko has recently had a lot of press attention having broken the world record for the fastest female to row across the Atlantic solo and unsupported, shaving seven days off the previous record of 56 and raising nearly £90,000 for King’s College.
She received messages of support from Olympians James Cracknell and Katherine Grainger, with the latter stating that “the whole world is full of awe and admiration”.
The school is a founder sponsor of Kiko’s challenge and helped fund the boat and preparations for the attempt. With the help of pupils, staff, students and the local community, it aims to raise £10,000 to reach the £100,000 target for the unit that has twice treated Kiko for a brain tumour.
Olivera Raraty, headmistress of Malvern St James, commented: “Kiko is a phenomenal individual who has shown exceptional courage, determination and resilience – personal attributes that we value highly and that we aim to foster amongst our students. She is also warm and generous, and good fun to be around.
“Kiko has already been in to see us twice before she embarked on her journey, and we’re looking forward to her presenting our annual prize-giving ceremony at the end of this term. There are lots of lessons about fearlessness and embracing challenge that we can learn from her. We are proud to have her as one of our alumnae and a shining example of the positive benefits of pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
“I hope that the people of Malvern will come along and support us on May 12th. Last year we raised over £12,000 for local charity Malvern Special Families, pooling the efforts of MSJ students, staff and parents, as well as former staff, pupils and community groups that we are involved with. It shows what can be achieved when people come together.”